C'est LaVie
by Genma no Ou
Summary: Several Months after the Dark Signer Incident has ended, some new threats emerge which the Signers and the Academia's finest must respond to - some which will push them to the limits and behind. OC's and a Crossover with Tenebrius' Tensei series.
1. A Darl New Peril

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 1 – A Dark New Peril, Elemental Heroes vs. Infinity Soldier**

In the darkness of the Sky Temple, the sound of a heartbeat broke the silence that had plagued it since the fall of Rex Godwin. Footsteps of a single person echoed out as they walked down the hallways of the old stone structure, stopping at the throne room at the centre of the pyramid-like temple.

With a snap of their fingers, a glowing green infinity symbol began to glow on the ceiling of the room, revealing the person as slightly above-average height and slim build, wearing white robes and with a metal patch bearing the infinity symbol over their right eye.

"The time draws near," he said to himself as two other cloaked figures, a small woman with a patch over her left eye and a large older man with a long beard and a patch covering his mouth entered the room. "The power will arrive hear soon," he announced, turning to the people behind him.

"And then this world will know true power, true greatness," the woman declared, flipping her hair to one side.

"True rule," the large man finally added.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The MC yelled overtop of a cheering crowd, while Judai and Sorano Daigo stood in the Dueling Ring in the middle of a match. Judai had just drawn a card, but he had no other cards on the field or in his hand other than his set Limit Rebirth, and there were 12 cards left in his Deck due to Sorano's Dragon Mill Deck.

On Sorano's field was Death Vorstgarph equipped with Black Pendant (ATK: 2700, LV: 6), a dark blue dragon with red armour and ragged wings with a purple necklace on, as well as Paralyze Chain. He held 2 cards in hand and had 2 set cards.

Judai: LP 1600

Sorano: LP 3400

"Yuki Judai has managed to get himself to this Finals Match tonight, and so far he's struggled with Sorano's new Deck. Can he possibly come back and win?"

"We'll see if he can," Jack said solemnly from the stands, sitting with his arms crossed underneath a skybox. Sitting beside him to his left were Lua and Luca, and on his right Yusei sat with Aki leaning her head onto Yusei's right shoulder. "So far I doubt it."

"If there's one thing I know about Yuki Judai," Yusei informed, "it's that he never backs down. He'll still win."

Down on the field, Judai stood there, staring solemnly at Sorano, his right arm extended fully back so he could not see his card. After a few seconds Sorano issued, "Well? Are you gonna make a move or not?"

Closing his eyes, Judai smiled and said, "Be careful what you wish for." Without even opening his eyes yet, he slung his right arm overtop of his Duel Disc's tray and placed the card into a Magic & Trap Card Slot, making the card (revealed as a Magic Card) glow as Judai's Cemetery lit up.

"What?!" Sorano yelled in dismay as the crowd began to ponder what had just transpired.

"Judai has drawn Miracle Fusion, a key card for his Deck!" The MC yelled out, trying to be exciting but unable to truly hide the awe in his voice. "It's moves like that which have made Judai the star Duelist he is!"

Straightening up and opening his eyes, Judai explained, "By Excluding the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman destroyed earlier, as well as my Elemental Hero Sparkman I used as Fusion Material earlier, I Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman!" From the Cemetery slot the two cards slid out as the gold and blue warrior and the red and green one-winged dragonic warrior appeared behind him, spiraling together to form a silver-armoured glowing warrior with bladed wings.

"That makes little difference," Sorano insisted. "Because a Normal Magic was activated, Death Vorstgarph gains 200 ATK (ATK: 2900)!"

"Increasing ATK isn't as useful as you think in this case," Judai noted as 7 cards slid out of his Cemetery. "Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman gains 300 ATK for every Elemental Hero monster in my Cemetery." Holding up the cards E-HEROs Featherman, Burst Lady, Tempester, Bubbleman, Clayman, Neos and Necro Darkman, he then slid them back into the Cemetery as his monster's power grew (ATK: 4600, LV: 8).

"And when Shining Flare Wingman destroys the opposing monster by battle and sends it to the Cemetery," the MC added as Judai returned his monsters to the Cemetery, "the opponent receives damage for its ATK!"

"And with only 3400 Life Points…" Lua realized, Luca at the same time noting the same thing.

"…this game ends in Judai's victory."

"Shining Flare Wingman, attack Death Vorstgarph!" Jumping up into the air, the warrior extended its blades wings as it shot at Sorano's monster, but Sorano beat him to the punch.

"Trap Card: Assault on Headquarters!" The dragon in front of Sorano roared out before disappearing, and then a beam of energy shot straight through Judai's Duel Disc. "Death Vorstgarph his destroyed, and your top 2 cards are sent from the Deck to the Cemetery!" Pulling the two cards, revealed as Yubel and Friendog, Judai placed them in the Cemetery.

"And next, from Paralyze Chain and Black Pendants' effects, you take 800 damage." Judai was thus shocked from his Duel Disc, and shifted it a bit before recovering.

"Then I direct attack!" Judai declared, pointing at Sorano as his monster formed an orb of green energy in its hands to fire at him. But once again, it was intercepted.

"Trap Card Open: Drain Shield!" The orb that was fired from the warrior fizzled out right before hitting him, and then an aura of energy formed around him. He smirked as Judai scowled and his Life Points rose.

Judai: LP 800

Sorano: LP 8000

"I end my turn," Judai declared, acting calm while trying to cover up his own frustrations.

"Draw," Sorano declared, pulling a band new card. Smiling confidently, he spun it around and further declared, "You're not the only one who can pull a Fusion Summon from the Cemetery."

"Interesting!" The MC yelled out as Sorano violently thrust into a Magic & Trap Card Slot, Judai and the audience watching in awe as a blast of light erupted from the ground behind Sorano.

"From my Cemetery I exclude 5 Dragon sub-type monsters to activate Dragon's Mirror, and with that I Fusion Summon F.G.D. (ATK: 5000, LV:12)!" From Sorano's Cemetery Slot slid Death Vorstgarph, Rare Metal Dragon, Vice Dragon, Material Dragon and Masked Dragon, and he held them up as the silhouette of a monster appeared in the column behind him.

Kicking up a wind storm, the light began to fade as the creature within came into view. A massive dragon with beige scales and large wings, equipped with 5 different heads that represented different alignments, growled out angrily once it was in full view. Judai covered his eyes from the wind by raising his left arm over his face, and then looked on in awe.

"I've defeated this monster before," Judai informed, "And I shall do so again!"

"Perhaps," Sorano sneered, "But not today. I equip F.G.D. with Burning of Darkness! When the equipped DARK-type monster inflicts Battle Damage, it discards 5 cards from the opponent's Deck for every 1000 ATK it has."

"What?" Judai asked in shock.

"This will leave Judai with only a few cards left in his Deck," the MC pointed out. "Is it too late for the former Champion of Ground Duels?"

"F.G.D., Attack Shining Flare Wingman!" Roaring, one by one the five heads of the creature formed various orbs of energy and fired streams from them at the silver warrior, making it explode and Judai grunt in frustration.

Judai: LP 400

Sorano: LP 8000

"Next," Sorano informed, "The effect of Burning of Darkness discards 5 cards from your Deck, and Paralyze Chain will thus destroy all but the last of your Life Points!" Snarling, Judai pulled 5 cards from his Deck (Hope of Fifth, E-HERO Prismer, E-HERO Edgeman, E-HERO Wildman, and Cross Porter) and placed them in the Cemetery, receiving yet another shock from his Duel Disc.

Judai: LP 100

Sorano: LP 8000

"Judai has no hand, no cards in play, 4 cards in his Deck and 100 Life Points left!" the MC yelled. "He must defeat Sorano's F.G.D and take out his 8000 Life Points before his Deck runs out!"

"I set 1 card and end my turn," Sorano said, once again jamming in the card. "What say you Judai?"

"I say…" Judai said, closing his eyes and bringing his hand to his Deck.

"_It all comes down to this,"_ Yubel stated in his mind. _"I know you can do it, Judai."_

"…It's my turn!" Judai declared, snapping his eyes open as he drew his card, swinging his arm far back. His irises had changed to Yubel's orange and green ones, and before he even saw his card he slapped it down. "Magic Activate: HERO's Legacy!"

"Hold up," Sorano issued. "How did you know what that card was?"

"My Deck and I are in tune with each other," Judai informed, a powerful wind kicking up around him, "along with the spirits that inhabit it, and those of my friends. And that is why I will always win!"

"You're bluffing," Sorano issued.

"WE'll see. By the effect of HERO's Legacy, when I have 2 or more E-HERO Fusion Monsters in my Cemetery and no cards in my hand, I draw 3 cards!" Snapping up the last of his Deck, Judai looked at them in confidence before playing one of the cards. "Magic Activate: Over Soul! Return: Neos (ATK: 2500, LV: 7)!"

As a purple 'O' extended out from the card, the card he had mentioned slid out from his Cemetery and he slapped it in a Monster Zone. Instantly the white humanoid warrior with black hands and feet and no face appeared in a battle-ready pose, and before Sorano could react Judai flipped up another card.

"Permanent Trap: Limit Rebirth! From my Cemetery I Special Summon 1 monster with 1000 or less ATK in Attack Position. Return: Yubel (ATK: 0, LV: 10)!" As a red light erupted from his Cemetery, he held up the card that slid out and the female demoness with sickly pink skin and three different eyes appeared, chuckling as she crossed her arms.

"Neither of these monsters will stand before me!" Sorano issued. "They're powerless!"

"I'm not done!" Judai issued, holding up both cards. "By sending both to the Cemetery, I Special Summon Neos Wiseman (ATK: 3000, LV: 10)!" Both the demoness and the white warrior nodded to each other before jumping into the air and striking each other. In a quick burst of light they both disappeared, being replaced by a black, white and sickly pink warrior with an eye-like helm and two wings on either side of its head.

"Battle!" Judai declared, raising his fist as the monster took off into the sky and causing the crowd and the MC to look on in confusion but intrigue.

"_That monster is less powerful than my monster, but I know Judai's up to something," _Sorano thought._ "I'd better play it safe."_ Trap Card: Holy Barrier – Mirror Force! I destroy Neos Wiseman!"

"Sorry," Judai declared, "but Neos Wiseman cannot be destroyed by card effects. And there's more: When Neos Wiseman battles an opposing monster, I gain Life Points equal to that monster's DEF while the opponent takes damage equal to its ATK!"

"But that makes no sense anyway!" Sorano issued. "You'll receive deadly Battle Damage before you recover any Life Points!"

"Ah, but there's one card in my hand left to play," Judai declared, flipping it around and stunning everyone as he looked on confidently. "By discarding Honest from my hand, my LIGHT monster gains ATK equal to your monster's!"

"What?!" Sorano yelled.

"Yeah!" Aki yelled out happily as Jack and Yusei actually smiled lightly at the move; the crowd began to cheer wildly at that time. From Judai's card, an angelic figure dressed in ancient Greek clothes and with white, orange and red feathers on its wingtips, limbs and rear, appeared and dove up into the air, merging into the warrior's body while its power grew.

"Neos Wiseman, destroy F.G.D. (ATK: 8000)! Ultimate Nova!" Curling up into a ball, the warrior covered itself in light blue energy just before the dragon blasted it with 5 different energy streams. These had no effect, however, and the warrior quickly retaliated by blasting massive light blue lasers from its body that struck the dragon, making it explode.

"NO!" Sorano yelled out as he was struck by the lasers, causing him to topple over and start beating on the ground with his fist. At the same time, Judai was lit up by a blue aura that healed him beyond the start as Sorano's LP fell. The monster disappeared while the winds around Judai died down and his eyes return to normal.

Judai: LP 5100

Sorano: LP 0

"Gotcha! That was a fun Duel!" Judai said, winking as he motioned in his infamous victory pose.

"GOTCHA! THAT WAS A FUN DUEL!" the audience echoed as other people screamed or applauded, including Yusei and the group.

"WINNER: YUKI JUDAI!" the MC yelled, it being clear that he was impressed with the win.

No one noticed, however, a figure in a grey trench coat and fedora taking notes of the duel, who stood up and walked out of the stadium while the referee came out on stage to congratulate Judai.

* * *

"Was the test a success?" The woman in white robes asked to the image of to figure in a grey trench coat that was projected onto the wall.

"Everything is going according to plan," it responded in a slightly distorted voice. "I will confront the test subject tonight."

"Excellent," the older man added as the image faded out.

"What is your obsession with this Yuki Judai anyway?" the woman asked.

"Because Lucciano," the white-robed man answered, "This Judai could indeed prove useful in our plans. Let's watch and find out."

* * *

Back at Judai's apartment, Aki, Yusei, Jack and the Twins were sitting at the table of his kitchen with drinks while Judai himself stood at the side. "That was an amazing Duel today Judai," Lua commented, smiling cheerily. "That last move was awesome."

"I don't think I've ever seen a move like that done before, even by Jack," Aki commented coyly, making the blond duelist with his arms already crossed close his eyes and huff.

"Thank you," Judai nodded, pouring himself another drink. "I'm glad I was able to pull that off. I thought I was going to lose there."

"We should be getting going," Yusei stated, looking at his watch. "It's getting late, and Aki and I have things to do tonight."

"You and your smutty relationships," Jack said critically as he stood up. "I'll be downstairs with Crow, preparing for the World Riding Grand Prix. Yusei was supposed to help us out, but seeing as he's too busy…" Jack then gave an elbow nudge to show the joking nature, much to Yusei's chagrin, "We've asked Saiga to come from his shop to help us."

"We'll take the twins home," Aki offered. "Judai, will you be joining us tomorrow for practice."

"That'd be sweet!" Lua exclaimed. "I've always wanted to duel Judai!"

"Then you'll get your chance tomorrow," Judai responded, smiling. "I'll be ready, me and my partner." As he said this Yubel took form beside him, which Luca took note of and nodded at her for.

"I wonder what it would be like to duel in a Tag Team," the girl pondered, "my brother and I against Yubel and Judai."

"_You would have a good time, child,"_ Yubel said with her own smile, _"I'd make sure of that."_

"'Till then, I guess," Aki noted, turning and hugging Judai goodbye. Both Yusei and Jack then gave him a firm handshake and the twins waved goodbye, and one by one the group went out of the apartment.

"Just you and I now," Judai said, "and I feel like going to bed early." Turning and looking on the floor, he saw the cat Pharaoh lying curled up in a ball, and a second later Daitokouji's Spirit Orb emerged from it.

"_I'll be sure to keep watch-nya,"_ the spirit stated.

"Thank you, Daitokouji-sensei," Judai nodded, turning and walking up the stairs while turning out the lights behind him. Yubel's spirit disappeared as he reached his room, where he went inside and closed the door.

***

Several hours later, outside the apartment door, the sound of metal on metal crunching at the locks was heard seconds before the door opened, and a tall shadowy figure stepped into the apartment. Closing the door behind him, the figure began to look about the apartment for something.

Seeing this, Pharaoh made a quick dash up the stairs to reach the top floor, where the spirit left it behind. Then, the spirit orb of Daitokouji entered into Judai's room and, talking softly so as not to tip off he figure downstairs, he said, "Judai, wake up. Someone's downstairs."

"What?" Judai asked, suddenly being fully awake at such an idea. Getting up, he pulled off the jacket he threw against the window and his Duel Disc, possibly to use as a weapon, and left the room. Creeping down the stairs, he reached the bottom landing and saw the figure turned to him going through his desk.

"Hey, who's there?" Judai asked strongly, causing the figure to turn around. Using Yubel's power Judai saw in the darkness that the figure was at least 6'6", slim, and wearing a beige long-coat and fedora that covered his body. "What are you doing here?"

"Yuki Judai?" The figure questioned, his voice sounding distorted as though by a headset.

"Who wants to know?" Judai responded critically, realizing something was afoot.

"That is not for you to know." Raising its left arm, a low mechanical hum was heard from beneath the coat before a Duel Disc erupted from what was revealed as a robotic arm. Instinctively, Judai raised his own arm to trigger the Duel Disc before he inserted his cards.

Both players thus drew 5 cards, and then yelled, "DUEL!"

Judai: LP 4000

Enemy: LP 4000

"I'll go first," Judai declared, but before he could draw his card he was surprised to see a bright green light begin to glow from the ground. Looking down, he saw that a bright green infinity symbol was now glowing at their feet, a loot surrounding each player. "What is this?"

"This is a test of your skills, Yuki Judai," the figure answered. As Judai looked back up at him, the light revealed a detail he had not seen before – the backs of his cards bore black infinity figure eights where the ovals were supposed to be.

Grunting, Judai turned back to his task and yelled, "Draw! Magic Activate: Emergency Call! I add E-HERO Bubbleman from my Deck to my hand!" As a green 'E' glowed out from the card, Judai fanned through his Deck until he found his card, showing it before shuffling his Deck and putting it back.

"Next I Summon Bubbleman in Defence Position (DEF: 1200, LV: 4)!" As the card materialized horizontally, the blue warrior with two tanks on its back appeared in a crouching position as Judai reached for his Deck. "Since Bubbleman is the only card I control, I draw 2 cards." Pulling his 2 cards, he jammed one of them into the Spell & Trap Card Zones. "Turn end."

"It is my turn," the figure declared, the figure eight on his top card flashing bright green before he pulled it. "Draw. I Summon Infinity Soldier (ATK: 1400, LV: 1)." Putting the card down, Judai was amazed to see several pieces of shiny white armour appear and float as though they were being worn.

The summoned creature held a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, both of which bore infinity symbols. It was forearm, shin, shoulder, chest and waist plates, and then a visor with a green screen. "What… is that monster?" Judai asked.

"While I control Infinity Soldier, I cannot summon," the figure informed. "But, once per turn, I can equip up to 1 Level 4 or lower Effect Monster at a time to this card, and its ATK will increase by that of the equipped monster." As though on cue, the floating armour lunged at Judai's warrior and cut it in half with its sword. When the warrior shattered, its form then appeared within the armour.

"Bubbleman has 800 ATK, so Infinity Solider now has 2200 ATK. Infinity Soldier, direct attack the player."

"Trap Card: Hero Emerges!" Judai declared, flipping his card. "When the opponent declares an attack, they pick a random card from my hand. If it is a monster, I Special Summon it!" Holding up his 6 cards, Judai looked tense as the figure looked on at them.

"The second from the left," the figure responded, making Judai smile as he grabbed the card.

"Then… I Special Summon E-HERO Edgeman (ATK: 2600, LV: 7)!" Slapping the card down, Judai called out his tall golden warrior with bladed arms, steer horns and green gems on its chest and stomach.

"That monster has more ATK than my monster," the figure stated calmly, "so I call off my attack. In my Main Phase 2, I set 2 cards. I end my turn."

"It's my turn then," Judai said. "Draw! Magic Activate: Angel's Gift!" Pulling his three cards one by one, he then took 2 monsters from his hand and deposited them into the Cemetery. "Next I activate Arms Hole! By sending the top card of my Deck to the Cemetery, I add Edge Power-Blade from my Deck to my hand!"

Pulling his top card, revealed as E-HERO Necro Darkman, he placed it in the Cemetery before again fanning for a card in his Deck. This time though, he jammed it into the Magic & Trap Card Zones, making a large chainsaw-shaped weapon with a plasma blade appear on the warrior's right arm.

"Due to Power-Blade," Judai declared as he put his Deck back, "Edgeman gains 800 ATK (ATK: 3400). And, I activate a Permanent Magic: Soul Share – Common Soul! I Special Summon N-Air Hummingbird from my hand (ATK: 800, LV: 3)!" Beside Judai's warrior emerged a red human-shaped bird with a long beak and large white wings.

"Judai, use my powers," the birdman declared, to which Judai nodded. With that it rose up into the air and over to the figure, where 3 flowers grew out from the cards in his hand.

"Due to this effect, I gain 500 Life Points for every card in your hand. And, due to Soul Share – Common Soul, Edgeman's ATK is increased by that of Air Hummongbird (ATK: 4200)!"

"_Analyzing Duel Strategy & Deck Make-up: 67% Complete,"_ a voice in the figure's head declared.

"Edgeman, attack Infinity Soldier!" Jumping up, a pair of jet-like wings emerged from the back of the gold warrior as it prepared to attack, before the figure waved his right arm over the set card.

"Trap Card Activate: Holy Barrier – Mirror Force. I destroy all attack position monsters the opponent controls."

"Not this time!" Judai said smugly. "I activate Edge Power-Blade's second effect! By sending it to the Cemetery I negate the activation and effect of a Trap Card and destroy it!" Slashing, the warrior cut through the opened Trap Card with the large weapon, destroying both.

"Then the attack on Infinity Soldier still goes through," the figure stated calmly, as the golden warrior slashed across his white-armoured copy of Judai's original monster. However, only the warrior wearing the armour was destroyed; the armour itself remained unharmed.

"What's this?" Judai asked stunned.

"If Infinity Soldier is to be destroyed by battle," the figure explained, "only the equipped monster is destroyed. However, I still received the damage."

Judai: LP 5500

Enemy: LP 2800

"_But even so, I have twice as many Life Points as him; and if he equips Air Hummingbird, he cannot destroy Edgeman. However, I'd best play it safe."_ "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Draw," the figure stated, immediately flipping his other set card before checking his draw. "Trap Card: Infinity Advance. By releasing 1 Infinity Monster, I Special Summon from my Deck 1 monster whose name contains that monster's name and whose Level is 2 higher."

Its image warping, the floating armour dissolved into pixels as the figure held up a new card and placed it on the tray. "I Special Summon Infinity Solder 3 (ATK: 1800, LV: 3)." Out of the warp spawned a similar monster to the last one, except with more ornate armour and a slightly larger blade and shield.

"Once in one turn, I may equip this monster with a Level 6 or lower Effect Monster, and add its ATK to this monster, I equip Air Hummingbird." As the previous armour had with Bubbleman, this armour slung its sword through the bird-man, cutting through him and making him appear within the armour. It seemed very thin within its confines, clearly meant for larger beasts (ATK: 2600).

"Net, by sending this monster equipped with a monster by its own effect to the Cemetery, I Special Summon Infinity Soldier 5 from my Deck (ATK: 2200, LV: 5)." Once again warping out, the armour produced in its wake a huge set of armour, with the blade and shield built into its arms and a cape on its back, and which was lit up by a green aura.

"Not good!" Judai realized, thinking of what this meant for his monster.

"Once in one turn," the figure stated, "I equip 1 Effect Monster my opponent controls to this card, and add its ATK to Infinity Soldier 5. I choose Edgeman." Swinging its bladed arm through the gold warrior, it shattered before taking up place within the armour (ATK: 4800).

"Field Magic: Infinity Barrier." Placing the card into the slot of the Duel Disc, the green infinity mark was surrounded by a green ring with runic symbols around it, and an eight-pointed star formed around the figure eight. "Infinity Soldier 5, direct attack the player."

"At this moment," Judai declared, "I activate the effect of Necro Gardner from my Cemetery."

"I'm afraid not," the figure stated. "With Infinity Barrier in play, when an Infinity monster attacks, the opponent cannot activate any Magic, Trap or Monster effects until after Damage Calculation."

"What?" Judai asked in shock and terror, realizing he has no recourse for so powerful an attack.

"Direct attack." The bladed warrior swung its weapon arm straight at Judai, making him scream out in pain as the force threw him back against the edge of the circle. There he was stopped by an invisible wall and slumped to the ground, a slash through the metal of his Duel Disc and his arm; the latter bled moderately while the former sparked.

Judai: LP 700

Enemy: LP 2800

"That… damage was…" Judai stated weakly, his whole body shuttering from the impact force. His eyes closed and he sighed, close to passing out, as the figure looked on silently.

"_Deck Analysis completed; Strategy Analysis, 92% complete,"_ the voice in the figure's head issued. "Yuki Judai, do you wish to concede?" it then asked aloud.

"_No you do not,"_ Yubel's voice said stronlyly in Judai's head. A second later, a green glow shone through his left eyelid and an orange through his right, and he then opened them to reveal Yubel's eyes.

"I'll never back down to the likes of you!" Judai uttered threateningly, standing back up strongly before mowing his arm over a card. "Trap Card: Hero Call! I select 1 monster from my Deck and place it on top of my Deck. I select Neos!" Pulling out his Deck, he held up said card while he shuffled the rest and put it back, that card on top.

"How hard you fight for someone with no chance of winning," the figure uttered. "It's such a shame you cannot be convinced to join us, because I hate to destroy someone so gifted."

"Join… you?" Judai asked. "What… are you taking about…?"

"WE want to change this world, bring about peace… and eliminating the Signers is a part of that."

"Eliminate the Signers?" Judai spat. "I'd sooner rip Yubel's soul from my body! Enogh of this; let's move on…!"

"If you wish to continue," the figure stated, "then I shall continue my turn. Permanent Magic: Perpetual Draw. With Infinity Barrier on my field during my Draw Phase, I may draw 2 cards that turn. But, if I use this effect, during the End Phase 1 place 1 card from my hand on top of my Deck. I end my turn. Come, Yuki Judai; it's your last turn."

"Then I'll make it count!" Judai stated, pulling his card aggressively. "Draw! And from my Cemetery I activate Necro Darkman's effect: I may Normal Summon 1 E-HERO without a release. Come: Neos (ATK: 2500, LV: 7)!" Slapping down the card hard, he called out the white warrior he had used so many times before.

"Because that monster is a Normal Monster," the figure stated, "I cannot equip it to Infinity Soldier 5. But, I still have 2300 more ATK than your monster."

"Not for long! Judai stated. "Magic Activate: R – Right Justice! I destroy the Edgeman equipped to Infinity Soldier 5!"

"What did you say?" the figure asked, right before an 'R' shot off the card Judai played and struck the gold warrior in the armour, shattering it.

"Now your monster's ATK returns to its base 2200!" Judai said confidently.

"Perhaps, but even so," the figure said, "you cannot make my Life Points 0, and in my next turn I may be able to destroy your last Life Points."

"There is not next turn!" Judai declared. "Trap Card: Soul Union! My E-HERO monster gains ATK equal to that of an E-HERO monster in my Cemetery. I choose: Edgeman (ATK: 5100)!" The white warrior let out a low bellow as its power increased, and then it jumped up into the air. "Destroy Infinity Soldier 5! Wrath of Neos!"

Coming down hard, the open hand of the white warrior cut the armour vertically, making a sparking noise before a huge explosion took place from the creature. The shockwave deactivated the barrier and the solid vision, then shot Judai back against the wall and the figure against the door.

Fire them erupted both from the explosion site and the figure, which made a mechanical screech before doing so. Upon bursting into flames, the clothes and fake skin singed away to reveal a robot with a black aura, which quickly dispersed and made the howling stop.

"_Judai, Judai wake up!"_ Yubel said to Judai as she materialized, shaking him and trying to get him to stir. She could see that he had a blow to the back of his head, in addition to his jacket and Duel Disc being soaked with blood, and she also felt something very alarming. _"Daitokouji-sensei!"_ she screamed, making the orb come near.

"_Yubel, what is it-nya?"_ Daitokouji asked, his spirit form materializing overtop of his orb. _"What's wrong with Judai-kun-nya? Is it serious-nya?" _

"_Judai's pulse is weak,"_ Yubel explained, the roar of the flames making it hard for her to hear herself. _"Yusei, Jack and Crow are in the downstairs apartment, number 537. Go tell them he's in danger and that there's a fire!"_

"_I'm on it-nya!"_ With that the spirit orb reverted to its normal form and the cat Pharaoh re-swallowed it, before running out the door.

"_Judai, stay with me Judai,"_ Yubel whispered to her unconscious love, shedding a tear as she did so.

* * *

"What the hell is that noise?" Jack asked in irritation, walking towards the door in a huff. He could hear the sound of a cat meowing and scratching at the door, and when he threw it open Pharaoh ran through the door and jumped up on the table.

"What the fuck's going on?" Crow asked, watching as the cat released the orb and Daitokouji took form.

"Daitokouji-sensei," Yusei realized, having gotten back a half hour earlier. "What's wrong? Is something wrong with Judai?"

"_Judai-kun is unconscious and his apartment is on fire-nya!"_ Daitokouji blurted in one breath, making everybody jump back in terror.

"What?" Crow asked.

"There's no time to waste!" Jack said strongly, running over to the kitchen sinks and pulling out three fire extinguishers kept for fuel fires while working on D-Wheels, chucking one each to Yusei and Crow before shouldering his own.

"Yeah, let's go," Yusei said, and with that they all ran out the door and shut it behind them. Running over to the stairs, they quickly made it up to the next floor and to Judai's apartment, 634. Jack made quick work of kicking down the door and starting his extinguisher, followed quickly by Yusei and Crow.

"There he is!" Crow yelled, pointing at Judai who was still slumped over the wall. His skin was red from heat rash, his jacket and Duel Disc were covered in hydraulic fluid and blood, and he did not look as though he was breathing.

Throwing his extinguisher to Yusei, Jack said, "You cover the fire, I'll grab Judai!" After Yusei nodded Jack quickly ran across the floor to the comatose man. He saw that the Duel Disc was starting to get red hot, so he quickly pulled it off to avoid either of them getting burned, followed by the now highly flammable jacket. He then grabbed his friend and slung him over his shoulder and ran him out into the hall.

Just as he got out into the hall, the chemical sprinklers in Judai's apartment started up. Seeing Judai's Deck, Crow grabbed it before he and Yusei got out and shut the door behind them. Jack quickly laid Judai on his back and, Yusei stepped over and began to administer CPR. "Come on Judai, wake up!" Yusei said, worried and angry at the same time.

"Crow, go get some rubbing alcohol!" Jack ordered. "We need to clean Judai's arm and his wounds!"

"You got it!" Crow yelled, saluting before running down the stairs. Turning back to Judai, Jack pulled a riding scarf out of his pocket and wrapped it around the arm gash, applying pressure to stop the bleeding.

"Judai! Come on, buddy!" Yusei said, tears starting to come to his eyes as a door behind him opened. Out stepped Johan who, upon seeing Judai, ran over in a fret and stood at the side, looking very scared and sad.

Finally, after about 90 seconds of CPR, Judai's lifeless body let out a cough or two and lurched up, making Yusei jump back. "Judai, thank God!" Johan yelled, sounding so relieved that his best friend was now safe from Death's grip.

"I got the alcohol!" Crow yelled, returning with the medical solution and a rag with which to apply it. Quickly he poured some on the rag and rubbed it on the gash and the burns, making Judai cringe from the pain and arch his back.

"Judai can stay with me tonight," Johan offered. "You guys have three people staying there already, and I have no roommates."

"That's a generous offer Johan," Jack said, "but one of us has to be with him to make sure he's safe."

"Can't we just call a hospital?" Johan then asked, getting a quick and strong reaction from the blond man.

"No. Judai can't get that kind of negative publicity after his near miss today. I'll run off to the pharmacy and get him some antibiotics and painkillers. If you want to keep Judai tonight, one of us has to stay with you."

"I'll do it," Crow said. "I've had to watch over many sick kids in Satellite. Johan, help me get him inside." With that both Johan and Crow picked Judai up by a shoulder, taking him inside the apartment while Jack and Yusei took off down the stairs.

* * *

Inside the apartment, the flames were almost out. Yubel's spirit had already moved on to Judai's new place, along with his Deck, but the Duel Disc and jacket remained. Out of nowhere, the pieces of the black aura which had come from the robot began to reappear and congregate around the jacket and the Duel Disc, making them levitate in place as the aura took human form.

Standing up and looking aside, the aura began to walk towards the stairs, every few seconds disappearing and teleporting a few feet before reappearing. When it reached the end of the upstairs hall, it teleported through the window and onto the fire escape, where it climbed up and onto the roof. Once there, it said seemingly to the wind, in Judai's voice, "Objective complete." Its form then slowly morphed into that of Judai, and then it disappeared.

Up in the sky, a comet outlined by an unusually green aura could be seen for miles, seemingly falling to the ground just outside of Neo Domino.

**Card of the Week – Enemy (Duel Robot)**

**Infinity Soldier 5**

**Type:** LIGHT

**Level:** 5

**Sub-type(s):** [Machine/Effect]

**Effect:** You cannot Summon monsters. Once per turn, you can equip 1 effect monster your opponent controls to this card. Only 1 monster may be equipped to this card at a time. This card's ATK is increased by that of the equipped monster. If this card would be destroyed, destroy the equipped monster instead.

**ATK/** 2200

**DEF/** 0

*By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes. Review if you wish.*


	2. The Mystery of Yliaster

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 2 – The Mystery of Yliaster, Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity**

The morning after the fire, in Johan's apartment, Crow and Johan stood over a now sleeping Judai, who was sprawled out on the couch with his Deck on a glass coffee table. The deck laid upside-down, Yubel's card on top, and her spirit stood over the couch staring at the other two.

"Who would want to do something like this to Judai?" Crow asked himself aloud, before turning to Johan. "Did Judai make any enemies that would do this?"

"Judai make enemies?" Johan asked in disbelief. "He has no enemies, and his rivals in the Pro League aren't murderous."

"The figure that started the fire," Yubel said, getting Johan's attention. Though Crow could neither hear nor see Yubel, he knew she was there because his Dragon's birthmark allowed him to sense her presence. She then added: "It was a robot, and it mentioned something about a master."

"Judai's opponents don't strike me as the type capable of building robots like those." Johan pondered as Crow put his thumb and index finger to his chin.

"They're not," Jack said, he and Yusei entering as Johan and Crow turned to see them. "How's he doing?"

"He's got first-degree burns on his left wrist," Johan started, "a deep slash to his left upper arm, hairline fractures to his shins, and he's anemic from loss of blood."

"He's lucky to be alive," Yusei stated. "Yubel," he declared, getting the spirit's attention even though he could not see her either, and further asked, "how did he suffer these wounds?"

"The robot played a duel against Judai in the confines of a glowing figure eight," the spirit declared, Johan restating what she said so the Signers could know. "One of the direct attacks did this to him."

"When Yusei and I dueled at the end of the Fortune Cup," Jack stated, "the Crimson Dragon's power made us feel pain, but we didn't suffer injuries from the match itself."

"Nor did the Dark Signers' power cause injuries like this," Yusei added. "What cards did the robot play?" He then asked Yubel.

"Infinity," was the spirit's reply. However, before they could say anything more, there was a knock on the door. Walking to it, Jack opened the door to reveal a tall, tanned, black-haired figure with a green officer's uniform on and a scar on his left cheek.

"Ushio," Yusei realized, slightly confused as to why he was there. Seconds later two men in black suits appeared behind Ushio, and Yusei added, "What's this about?"

"The arson last night," the officer stated plainly. "As Chief Detective, it's my job to make arrests in high-profile cases."

"High-profile?" Crow questioned.

"A single apartment fire?" Johan added, just as suspicious.

"Under the Director's new Statutes, arson in a private dwelling of multiple groups of residents, like a hotel or apartment complex, is terrorism."

"Hold on; new director?" Yusei questioned. "I thought the spot had been vacant since Godwin passed on six months ago."

"His replacement was named two weeks ago," Ushio explained. "And under His orders, I am here to place Yuki Judai under arrest for Arson, Terrorism, Destruction of Private Property and multiple counts of Attempted Murder."

"Say what?" the four friends asked in unison, incredibly disbelieving of the previous statement. At this time the two black-suited figures, identified as officers, stepped out from behind Ushio and shook Judai awake, then grabbed him by the shoulders.

"What the hell is this?" Judai asked angrily, struggling against the officers. "This is insane!"

"Shut up and save it for the judge," one of the officers yelled at him, twisting his arm by the burned wrist and making him scream out in pain.

"That's enough," Ushio ordered. "Take him out of here carefully."

"Ushio," Johan stated as the two officers left and Ushio turned to. "You know this isn't right. You can't honestly think Judai is responsible for this."

Hanging his head in shame Ushio stated in a melancholy, "I don't. I don't know Judai well, but from what my subordinates tell me he's the kind of person to help catch criminals, not become one. Unfortunately, I'm under orders from the top; but I'll make sure he gets a good lawyer."

"You can't be serious!" Jack bellowed.

"I'm sorry; it's the law." With that Ushio picked up Judai's Deck and placed it in his coat pocket. Yubel's spirit then faded out in the background, and with that Ushio walked out and left.

"Wait, Ushio," Yusei asked, getting the lead officer to stop for a second. "What's this new Director's name?"

As he turned and walked away, Ushio simply stated, "It's Placido."

* * *

"Judai has been arrested," the large older man stated from the shadows of the Sky Temple. He was speaking to Placido via a plasma screen, the latter man sitting on Godwin's old office and being dressed in a white suit with a black eye patch instead of his metal one.

"Excellent, Jose," Placido stated with a smile. "He'll be a pawn in our hands soon enough."

"Lucciano has completed the preparations to test the power," Jose added. "We're ready to confront one of the Signers."

Smiling, Placido replied, "Then by all means do." When Jose nodded, Placido turned off the screen on his end.

* * *

"We need to get down to the station," Jack stated, putting on his riding helmet. Crow and Yusei were already on their own D-Wheels, Johan being on Judai's, as Jack got onto Wheel of Fortune and started it up.

"I need to meet with someone before I can show up there," Yusei stated. "Judai arranged for me to meet with someone a few days ago."

"Who was that?" Johan asked, prompting Yusei to reply with,

"I have no idea, but I'm guessing it's somebody who can help us out."

"Meet us at the station when you're done," Crow stated, just before he, Jack and Johan pulled out and started off onto the roads. Seconds later, Yusei punched in an address Judai had given him into his D-Wheel's GPS. Then, he started up his machine and pulled out.

"_I hope Judai's contact can really help us out as much as he said,"_ Yusei thought as his speed level out to 150 km/h and he began to take the highest ramp. _"I don't know what's going on, but it's not good."_

"Fudo Yusei!" A distorted voice yelled from behind Yusei. When Yusei turned to look, a black D-Wheel with a rider in a black jumpsuit rushed by him, side-swiping his ride and making him veer left for a few meters.

"Who are you?" Yusei asked. "Are you Judai's contact?"

"You can call me Ghost," the rider stated, revealing a pale face with several piercings and violet eyes. "Now come, and show me your Power of the Signers!"

"How do you know about that?" Yusei asked, suddenly getting an idea into his head. "Do you work for Placido?"

"That's not of your concern," Ghost yelled, pushing a button on his D-Wheel. Instantly Yusei's own D-Wheel switched to Duel Mode, the autopilot taking over and activating his built-in Duel Disc. "We will now Riding Duel, and under the World Riding Grand Prix rules!"

"_The Grand Prix rules?"_ Yusei thought. _"Then we're going by Speed World 2's effect."_ This was confirmed when, instead of Speed World, the card Speed World 2 appeared on the screen. _"The GPS will still get me to my location, but only if I can escape this duel."_

"Are you ready to lose?" Ghost yelled arrogantly as his D-Wheel's card tray ejected 5 cards and Yusei pulled 5 from his wrist dealer. Suddenly the 2 D-Wheels veered off onto another road, leading across the Neo Domino Straight and towards Satellite, where barriers began to form along the edges and the words "DUEL LANE" formed in neon sign, followed by the ID Number "257091".

"I will not lose!" Yusei yelled, and so both players yelled,

"Riding Duel! Acceleration!"

Yusei: LP 4000

Ghost: LP 4000

"I'll go first!" Yusei yelled. "Draw! I summon Shield Warrior (DEF: 1600, LV: 5)!" To Yusei's left emerged a beige and brown warrior with a shield in one hand and a halberd in the other, which turned blue instantly. "I set 1 card and end my turn."

"It is my turn," Ghost declared as a new card was dispensed (Yusei: 1 SPC/Ghost: 2 SPC). "I summon Wise Core (ATK: 0, LV: 1)." To the right of Ghost emerged a white metallic egg-shaped device lined with several circuit patterns.

"Wise Core?" Yusei asked. "I've never seen that monster before."

"Next, because I Summoned a monster," Ghost added, "I Special Summon Wise Breaker (ATK: 1600, LV: 3)!" Opposite the machine he had just played, Ghost's new monster appeared as a white metal warrior with an electrified staff in one hand and several circuit patterns.

"When this monster is Special Summoned, I destroy all monsters I control and draw 1 card for each."

"What?" Yusei asked as Ghost pulled 2 cards. From the staff the warrior left shot two fields of electricity, one of which exploded the wielder while the other surrounded the white core. Before it could explode it opened up horizontally, splitting into a top and bottom half and revealing a green glowing orb. Then, the light erupted into a vertical column.

"When Wise Core is destroyed y a card effect," Ghost explained, "I destroy every monster I control, and then I Special Summon Wisel Top (ATK: 500, LV: 1), Wisel Carrier (ATK: 800, LV: 1), Wisel Guard (DEF: 1200, LV: 1), Wisel Attack (ATK: 1200, LV: 1) and Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity (ATK: 0, LV: 1) from my Deck!"

From the glowing green light, the silhouette of a gigantic robotic figure slowly came into view. When the light finally died down, it revealed a white metal monster with a humanoid body, two different arms, massive legs, red eyes glowing through holes in the faceplate, and a green infinity symbol on its chest (ATK: 2500, LV: 1).

"2500 ATK and only Level 1?" Yusei questioned in shock as the white metal monster swung its fist towards his warrior. Acting quickly, Yusei flipped his Trap Card and blurted, "Trap Card Open: Scrap-Iron Scarecrow! I negate the opponent's attack and reset this card." A metallic scarecrow appeared in front of the metal monster's fist, getting his and disappearing.

"Such an annoying card," Ghost uttered disdainfully. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Draw (Yusei: 2 SPC/Ghost: 2 SPC)!" Yusei declared, quickly reaching for a card in his hand after placing his existing one in his tray. "I Activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton! When my SPC is 2 or higher, I draw 2 cards and discard 1!" Pulling his two cards at once, Yusei then took a Trap Card from his hand and placed it in the Cemetery slot.

"I send Speed Warrior to my Cemetery and Special Summon Quick Synchron (ATK: 700, LV: 5)!" Placing the card into the Cemetery, Yusei placed another onto the tray to call forth a blue cowboy robot with a revolver and a projector-like face. "Then I Summon Tuning Supporter (ATK: 100, LV: 1)!" With that Yusei's small robot with a wok-like head and scarf appeared.

"Such weak monsters will not counter Machine Emperor Wisel!" Ghost laughed, pointing at Yusei.

"I activate Quick Synchron's effect: When used for a Synchro Summon, it can be treated as any Synchron. I choose Nitro Synchron!" 7 different cards appeared in front of the cowboy robot and began spinning in formation clockwise, until the robot pulled its revolver and shot one. "And next, Tuning Supporter is treated as a Level 2 monster for this Synchro Summon!"

"_That's it, Yusei,"_ Ghost thought confidently, _"Synchro Summon a powerful monster."_

"I tune my Level 5 Quick Synchron to my Level 2 Tuning Supporter!" The robot fired off 5 rounds, which changed into white orbs and then green rings, before it disappeared. The rings then surrounded the smaller robot, turning it into 2 white orbs that changed into a beam of light. "The clustering minds will now become a new force! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Blaze on, Nitro Warrior (ATK: 2800, LV: 7)!"

Out of the light emerged a green muscular warrior with 4 jet nozzles on its back, bison horns, two tanks on its back and black jets on its forearms. "Because of Tuning Supporter's effect, I draw 1 card. Nitro Warrior, attack Machine Emperor Wisel!" Jumping up in the air, the warrior shot forward and swung its fists at the chest of the robot, but they hit the right arm of the robot instead and shattered only that. "What?"

"When a Wisel monster is attacked," Ghost explained, "I may make Wisel Guard the attack target."

Looking down at his cards, Yusei placed them all in the slots and said, "I set 3 cards and end my turn."

"Draw (Yusei: 3 SPC/Ghost: 3 SPC)," Ghost declared, snickering. "I summon Wisel Guard 3 (DEF: 2000, LV: 3)." A shield-like piece of machinery appeared to the right of the giant robot, and it quickly snapped out into the shape of an arm and attached to the shoulder of the robot. "And next, I activate Machine Emperor Wisel's effect!"

The infinity symbol glowed brightly for a second before six tentacles of green energy shot off if it, wrapping around the green warrior and vanishing it. "Once per turn, I may eqquip up to 1 Synchro Monster to this card, and have Wisel gain its ATK (ATK: 5300)! Attack Shield Warrior!"

"Trap Card: Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" The metal object once again appeared in the path of the robot's left fist, shattering on connect. But this time, Ghost smiled as he flipped a pair of Trap Cards.

"Permanent Trap: Battle Return, and I chain Wise A3! I release Wisel Attack and Special Summon Wisel Attack 3 from my hand (ATK: 1600, LV: 3)!" The left arm of the robot disappeared, and was replaced by a new one with a thicker form and an axe-like set of blades on its forearm. Thus, the giant Robot's ATK rose (ATK: 5700).

"After activation, Battle Return equips to Wisel Infinity. Once per turn, Battle Return lets me halve the ATK of Wisel Infinity after an attack where no monster is destroyed," Ghost explained. "And thanks to Wisel Attack 3, Machine Emperor Wisel inflicts Penetration Damage (ATK: 2850). Attack Shield Warrior!"

Yusei was unable to react before the robot swung its fist again, striking his monster and shattering it. The shockwave from the impact made Yusei's D-Wheel swerve and wobble, and he took his damage, but due to Speed World 2 his SPC did not decrease.

Yusei: LP 2750

Ghost: LP 4000

"Your moves are useless, Signer," Ghost taunted with a chuckle. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Draw! (Yusei: 4 SPC/Ghost: 4 SPC). I Summon Massive Warrior (DEF: 1200, LV: 2)!" Where the previous warrior had been, a thick-set stone figure with 4 arms and 4 legs, which held a helicopter landing pad, appeared and lowered the pad in front of it before turning blue. "I end my turn."

"Draw (Yusei: 5 SPC/Ghost: 5 SPC). I Activate the Equip Magic known as Speed Spell – Rapid Shot Wing, and equip it to Wisel!" From the back of the robot emerged 2 large metal wings and Ghost laughed. "During my turn, Wisel gains 100 ATK for every one of my Speed Counters (ATK: 6200). Attack Massive Warrior!"

"I activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" Yusei declared, stopping the first swing of the robot's massive left arm.

"Even so, with Battle Return's effect, I halve my ATK (ATK: 3100) and I strike again!" Swinging its fist again, the robot struck the landing pad, where the shot was deflected. "What's this?" Ghost asked in shock.

"I take no Battle Damage from Massive Warrior battling," Yusei explained. "And once per turn, it cannot be destroyed by battle."

"Meddling little creature," Ghost grunted, before laughing psychotically. "But you will not triumph so easily! I activate Speed World 2's effect: By removing 4 Speed Counters, you take 800 Damage for every Speed Spell in my hand!" Flipping over his hand, Ghost revealed Speed Spell – Over Boost and Speed Spell – Gap Storm, and from Yusei's control console he received a quick electrical shock.

Yusei: LP 1150

Ghost: LP 4000

"I end my turn Yusei," Ghost sneered. "Good luck surviving (ATK: 5700)."

"Draw (Yusei: 6 SPC/Ghost: 2 SPC)! I set 1 card and end my turn."

"Draw! (Yusei: 7 SPC/Ghost: 3 SPC). I activate Speed Spell – Over Boost!" Ghost declared, instantly increasing his SPC by 4 and smiling evilly. "Trap Card Open: Over Blast! During this turn, any monster that battles a monster I control that is not destroy by battle, is destroyed after damage calculation, and half its ATK is dealt as damage to the opponent. Attack, Wisel!"

"Permanent Trap: Forceful Stop!" Yusei decalred, flipping over a new card. "By sending Scrap-Iron Scarecrow to the Cemetery, I end the Battle Phase!" Yusei's older Trap Card flipped over and disappeared, and then the fist of the robot never swung out of its place.

"Clever," Ghost declared, "but not enough so. I activate Speed World 2's second SPC effect: I remove 7 SPC and draw 1 card!" Dropping his SPC all the way to 0, he pulled another card and flipped it around instantly. "I activate a second Speed Spell – Over Boost! And then, I remove the 4 Speed Counters to inflict you with 800 more damage!"

"That's insane!" Yusei yelled as more electricity shot off his console, making his D-Wheel shudder and shake.

Yusei: LP 350

Ghost: LP 4000

"I set 1 card andduring the End Phase my SPC becomes 1. I end my turn," Ghost snickered. "You Life Points are almost gone, Signer. Can you survive another turn?"

"Of course I will," Yusei stated. "I have faith in my Deck. It's my turn. Draw (Yusei: 8 SPC/Ghost: 2 SPC)." Looking at his card, Yusei realized that he had indeed found a chance at escaping this vicious cycle. "Speed Spell – Energy Force! Because I have 8 SPC, both players draw 3 cards!" Pulling his three cards, Yusei saw that he had drawn into a good combo.

"You must be desperate Signer," Ghost taunted with a chuckle. "Why else would you let me draw cards?"

"Let me worry about that," Yusei answered. "I Summon Junk Synchron (ATK: 1300, LV: 3)!" In front of Yusei emerged his short, chubby orange robot with the white scarf and the motor on the back. "With its effect, I Special Summon 1 Level 2 or lower monster from my Cemetery with its effect negated. Return, Tuning Supporter (DEF: 300, LV: 1). Yusei's small wok-headed robot returned beside his existing monsters, crouching and turning blue.

"Next, by releasing Massive Warrior, I Special Summon Turret Warrior (DEF: 2000, LV: 5)!" The grey stone warrior disappeared, being replaced by a blue stone warrior with 2 tower-like shoulders armed with cannons and a thick body to match. "I tune my Level 3 Junk Synchron to my Level 5 Turret Warrior!" Pulling on its start chord, the orange warrior's engines revved as it turned into 3 green rings that surrounded the other warrior, turning it into 5 white orbs that formed a vertical column.

"The clustering powers will invoke a new shooting star. Become that path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Take Flight, Stardust Dragon (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" From the light emerged Yusei's white dragon with massive, thin wings, a long neck and tail, large hawk-like talons and three horns off the back of its head. The creature shrieked wildly at the robot, showing its anger. "I set 1 card and end my turn."

"Draw (Yusei: 9 SPC/Ghost: 3 SPC)!" Ghost yelled, pointing at Yusei's Dragon. "That monster of yours represents your status as a Signer. Lucky for it I can't equip another Synchro Monster to Wisel, but what I can do is this: I attack Stardust Dragon with Wisel (ATK: 6000)!"

"I activate Forceful Stop's effect: I send my set Slip Stream to the Cemetery and end the Battle Phase!" Flipping up, Yusei's Trap Card disappeared as the fist of the robot stopped short of the dragon and went back to its place.

"You'll not last another turn, Yusei," Ghost taunted. "I set 1 card and end my turn."

"_Come on Deck,"_ Yusei thought to himself,closing his eyes. _"If ever I needed a miracle, that time is now."_ As though answering his pleas, the top of his Deck started to glow a strong yellow, and he felt the Dragon's Head mark disappear from his arm. Just then, he also felt the Seal of the Crimson Dragon appear on his Deck.

"It's my turn!" Yusei said, opening his eyes and slinging his arm way back. "Draw (Yusei: 10 SPC/Ghost: 4 SPC)!"

* * *

"What the hell is going on?" Crow asked as his D-Wheel pulled to a stop. On their way to the jail where Yusei was being kept, the three of them had encountered a series of robots which had attempted to run their D-Wheels off the road. Now, they didn't have enough charge left to get there.

"I don't know," Javk responded, "but I bet it's not good."

"What's with your arms?" Johan asked out of nowhere, prompting Jack and Crow to look down at their right arms. The red of their Birthmarks was pulsing through their sleeves, and then all of a sudden it died out.

"It's Yusei…" Crow realized.

"He's calling out to us… asking for our power…"

* * *

"Well, what did you draw?" Ghost asked, slightly amused at Yusei's reaction.

"You'll soon see," Yusei declared. "I summon the Tuner Monster, Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" Out of a red beacon of light emerged a red teardrop-shaped dragon with bulging yellow eyes and four-bladed wings.

"That monster!" Ghost realized, half in fear and half in excitement. _"That's it, Yusei... use that power..."_

"I tune my Level 1 Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon to My Level 8 Stardust Dragon and my Level 1 Tuning Supporter!" Rising up into the air, all three monsters formed a vertical line as the red dragon expanded in size until it was the size of a 747. Screeching, the white dragon sank down into its body, followed by the robot, as they turned respectively into 8 and 1 white orbs, forming a line inside a green ring within the dragon's body.

"The clustering hopes will invoke a new miracle. Become the path its light shines upon. Synchro Summon!" As Yusei yelled this, he body of the red dragon exploded into a blue orb of light that came down upon Yusei and swallowed him. It then rise up into the air where Yusei, now inside a neon rainbow field, finished the chant with, "Descend down in light, Savior Star Dragon (ATK: 3800, LV: 10)!"

Out of the blue light exploded the form of a humungous, four-winged silver and light blue wyvern with a long whip-like tail, a medium neck with a fused plate-like face and three horns, a segmented torso, long legs with spear-like feet and very long, four-bladed wings. _"That's the Ultimate monster,"_ Ghost realized.

"Once per turn," Yusei echoed from within the warship-sized dragon, flying along at sonic speed overtop of the city, "Savior Star Dragon may negate the effect of an opponent's monster and gains its effect, until the End Phase. I choose to negate Wisel's effect. Sublimation Drain!" With a hiss, the dragon made white sparks shoot off of the robot's torso, causing the infinity symbol to dull.

"With Wisel Infinity's effect negated, it loses Nitro Warriopr as an Equip Magic, and it no longer gains the ATK of its limbs (ATK: 0)!"

"_Damn it!"_ Ghost realized. _"He's figured out my game plan!"_

"Savior Star Dragon, attack Wisel Attack 3! Shooting Blaster Sonic!" Folding its wings in against its body, the dragon formed a blue flaming aura around its body, like a comet, and began shooting down towards the monster.

"I activate Wisel Guard 3's effect!" Ghost answered, pointing at the right arm. "Once in one turn, I negate an attack against a Wisel Monster."

"I activate Savior Star Dragon's effect!" Yusei yelled out, making the dragon pull out of its dive and glow like a flare. "I release this monster to negate that effect and destroy ever card you control!"

"What did you say?" Ghost asked.

"Stardust Nova!" With that the dragon once again began to dive, swooping right overtop of Ghost and his monster before striking the road 100 meters ahead. The blue light exploded into stardust, releasing Yusei to continue riding as the robot and all of Ghost's Traps exploded catastrophically.

"Kisama!" Ghost yelled out angrily, looking on at Yusei with total contempt. "You destroyed my Machine Emperor Wisel!"

"That's the least of your concerns," Yusei declared. "Trap Card: Synchro Spirits! By excluding Savior Star Dragon from my Cemetery, I Special Summon Stardust Dragon (DEF: 2000, LV: 8), Tuning Supporter (DEF: 300, LV: 1) and Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon (DEF: 0, LV: 1) in Defence Position!" Pulling the card from his Cemetery, three bright lights appeared before Yusei as blue versions of his white dragon, his red dragon and his blue robot all appeared before him.

"Next I activate Dimensional Inversion!" Yusei declared. "I return all excluded monsters to the Deck!" Taking Savior Star Dragon's card, Yusei placed it back in his Extra Deck and looked back at Ghost.

"Even so," Ghost declared, "Your monsters cannot attack me now!"

"Now as is, but the power of bonds makes anything possible," Yusei retorted with a smile. "Trap Card: Urgent Tuning! I Synchro Summon during the Battle Phase!"

"What?" Ghost asked in dismay.

"I tune my Savior Dragon to Stardust Dragon and Tuning Supporter once again!" This time, the three monsters all burst out into the navy light from before and combined into a glowing blue flare around Yusei, rising off the track again and taking on the shape of the dragon's comet directly above Ghost. "The clustering hopes will invoke a new miracle. Become the path its light shines upon. Synchro Summon! Descend down in light, Savior Star Dragon (ATK: 3800, LV: 10)!"

Exploding out from the light, the large wyvern spread its wings with a triumphant hiss and once again flew onwards. "And now," Yusei's voice echoed out, "I activate Skill Successor's effect from my Cemetery!"

"Skill Successor?" Ghost questioned angrily. "You never played that card!"

"When I played Angel Baton," Yusei explained, "I sent it to the Cemetery. And since this is not the same turn, by excluding this card, my Savior Star Dragon gain 800 ATK until the End Phase (ATK: 4600)!"

"This can't be!" Ghost yelled out in dismay.

"Savior Star Dragon, direct attack the player! Shooting Blaster Sonic!" Hissing again, the dragon furled up its wings and formed its blue comet again, shooting down at Ghost fast enough to create a sonic boom and shooting overtop of him. Without even touching Ghost, the force of the flyby made Ghost's body begin to spark and eventually explode, revealing to be yet another robot.

Yusei: LP 350

Ghost: LP 0

"_Another one of these robots,"_ Yusei thought as the Duel Lane barriers withdrew. _"This confirms my theory that Placido had someone attack Judai last night, and I'll bet he set this up so I couldn't reach him."_

Ahead by about 100 meters again, Yusei was dropped off by the dragon as it shot back up into the sky, flying towards the sun as a contrail of blue stardust flew off behind it. Slowing down, Yusei deactivated Duel Mode for his D-Wheel as Ghost's D-Wheel, still on Autopilot, shot by until it was 10 meters ahead. There, it slowed down strangely, and the SPC lit all the way up to 10. As it slowed, to ended up a few feet ahead of Yusei, where the SPC started to beep as they counted backwards.

"_Oh no, it's a bomb!"_ Yusei realized. He tried to break away, turn, anything, but the Duel Mode feature kept him from leaving even though the duel was over.

Just as the Counter reached three, Yusei heard the roar of an engine slowly begin to descend. Looking up and to the left, he saw a blur of red shoot by and strike the D-Wheel on its side, making both fly off the edge of the Duel Lane. Ghost's D-Wheel exploded in midair, while the other object – a dark red D-Wheel – fell into a forest below.

* * *

Back in Placido's office, he had been watching the Duel between Ghost and Yusei from a camera on the console of Ghost's D-Wheel. When Savior Star Dragon attacked, the camera shattered and the feed turned to static, but Placido was still impressed. _"Yes, I've seen it; the power of the Saviors, the power that defeated Rex Godwin!"_

Pressing a button as the feed cut out, the screen changed to the woman of the group of three, sitting in a throne-like chair, and he said, "An excellent job of recreating my Wisel cards, Lucciano."

"Thank you, Placido," Lucciano answered, strolling her red hair as another of Placido's screens extended up and Jose appeared on it.

"The bomb has failed to destroy Yusei's D-Wheel," Jose said in disappointed anger. "It was intercepted."

"What?" Lucciano said in irate impatience. At that moment footage of the red D-Wheel and its rider, dressed in a black riding suit with an orange-eyed balaclava, striking Ghost's ride and knocking it off the ledge before the bomb went off.

"Who is that man?" Placido asked as Jose came back on the monitor.

"I don't know. There's no shot of his face."

"Oh well," Lucciano said. "We still proved that the cards work, and that I can recreate cards well."

"And as for this interloper," Placido said, pressing a button to produce a third screen with Judai alone in an interrogation room as the footage, "perhaps he can tell us." Placido was interrupted by a knock on the door, and so he looked up and said, "Enter."

With that, a black electrical aura passed through the doorway, taking a human form and solidifying into the shape of Judai; only with harder, colder eyes and darker clothes. In the real Judai's voice the figure said, "The test was a success. I have replicated Yuki Judai's Deck and style completely."

"Very impressive," Lucciano said, smiling.

"This person will come in handy," Jose realized.

"Yes," Placido grinned. "Very much so indeed…"

* * *

Sitting alone in the sealed room, facing a mirror and looking melancholy, Judai was internally frustrated by his situation and externally broken. Even Yubel had disappeared from his senses; he figured she was doing something constructive, but he still wanted company.

"_Something's not right" _Judai thought to himself,_ "And I hope that Yusei and the others can figure out what's going on."_

* * *

Several minutes later, Yusei was continuing along the duel lane in the opposite direction, trying to get back to where the Riding Duelist had side-swiped the D-Wheel. Looking around, he could see no sign that the collision had ever occurred, nor that Judai's contact would be there.

Suddenly, Yusei heard the sound of a D-Wheel motor behind him. He had not seen another D-Wheel on this road since the incident or before, so he looked back in curiosity. All of a sudden the dark red D-Wheel shot right by, the rider breaking hard and turning sideways to block Yusei's path. Thus, Yusei quickly braked and turned right as well, stopping before a collision.

"Who is this?" Yusei asked in curiosity, taking off his helmet. Looking over, he saw that the rider was wearing a black leather jumpsuit covered in metal spikes, completed with a silver helmet overtop of a balaclava. The eyes of said item were orange eyeplates, and the helmet was air-sealed. Getting off his ride, the man showed that he was slightly taller than Jack, perhaps 6'4".

"I forgot how long it had been," the figure responded, their voice sounding very low and dark from the helmet. Reaching to the sides, the figure released the vapour seals and took the helmet off, putting it in his D-Wheel. The figure then said, in a rather unique voice, "Do I sound more familiar now, Yusei?"

"There's only one man I know who speaks Japanese with a Texan accent," Yusei realized aloud, smiling as he dismounted and walked towards the man. While he did so, the man took off his balaclava to reveal crimson hair spiked into a flame style, a pair of dark red-rimmed sunglasses with black lenses, piercings through both ears and his eyebrows, and a tanned complexion. "How's it been, Kyojo?"

"Well, it's been a pretty lonely life in the lamb," Kyojo answered, smiling. "I miss this city." Turning serious for a second he then asked, "Where's Judai?"

Growing somber, Yusei reiterated, "He's been taken in by the new director's police officers."

"That bastard Placido took Judai in?" Kyojo growled, his fist shaking.

"You know about Placido?" Yusei asked in disbelief, prompting Kyojo to clear his throat.

"Forgive me; I've been in a sort of undercover operation for several months now, investigating Godwin and now Placido. I'll tell you more later. Right now, we need to meet up with the others so we can make everything clear."

"Where?"

"There's an old hangout of mine in the downtown region, left over from the era of Duel Mobsters. Send the other the coordinates and tell them to meet us there ASAP."

"Should we not to get Judai then?"

"We can fill him in later, but I fear that after that little event just now they'll not allow us to see him so soon. I have a man who can go see them, and I'll let him know en route. Get Jack and Crow on the horn."

"Okay," Yusei nodded, turning to his D-Wheel and pressing its menu button. Selecting his contacts option, he pulled up Jack, who was pulled over by the side of a road. "Jack, change of plans," Yusei answered. "We need to get to a certain location; I'll send you the coordinates."

"What's changed?" Jack asked.

"We need to do something and fast. I've had a run-in with one of Placido's robots and I fear we're walking into a trap. We'll get Judai later."

"If you're suggesting we abandon Judai then it must be important," Jack said. "Alright, send me the location." Nodding, Yusei punched in the location and Jack nodded. "Do you want Aki there too?"

"Yes, and the twins," Yusei stated. Once again nodding, Jack signed out. Turning to Kyojo, Yusei said, "Let's ride!"

"Now that's my kind of plan," Kyojo declared, pulling on his balaclava before they both put on helmets and rode off.

* * *

Standing at the base of the altar, Taiyou looked up at the blue spire, which was glowing brightly. Above the whole thing, the seal of the Crimson Dragon floated in the sky, until it suddenly began to fade out. At that time, the spire too returned to normal, and Taiyou looked on in disbelief.

"It has been summoned again," Endymion stated, stepping up from behind the man. "And there's news of your friend; he is in Neo Domino and has made contact with Yusei."

"Really?" Taiyou asked, intrigued. "Then I guess it's time I had a rendezvous with them."

"I can make a portal to leave this dimension," Endymion answered, "but you must wait until Kyojo opens the one on his end before you enter."

"Then let me know when he has," the man answered, pulling a Deck from his cloak and placing it into a purple and black Duel Disc before discarding the cloak. "It's time I completed my duty to the Crimson Dragon."

**Card of the Week – Ghost (Placido)**

**Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity**

**Type:** EARTH

**Level:** 1

**Sub-type(s):** [Machine/Effect]

**Effect:** Your other monsters cannot attack. Once per turn, you can select 1 Synchro Monster your opponent controls and equip it to this card as an Equip Magic Card. Only 1 monster at a time may be equipped with this effect. This card gains ATK equal to its ATK. This card gains ATK equal to the ATK of all other "Wisel", "Skiel" and "???" monsters you control. When this card is destroyed, destroy all monsters you control.

**ATK/** 0

**DEF/ **0

*Not a bad chapter is I say so myself. Review if you wish.*


	3. Enter the Summoners!

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 3 – Enter the Summoners! Yusei vs. Taiyou!**

"Where exactly is this old hideout of yours?" Yusei yelled back to Kyojo, riding a mere 6 meters behind him. The two of them had used more private roads to get to the heart of Neo Domino, afraid of another ambush by something like Ghost, and now they were there. The old slums, not much different than the Satellite, spoke back to the days when the mob ran the city.

"It's just up ahead," The Texan-Japanese answered. "I'll let you know when we reach it." Mere seconds later, Kyojo pointed at a run-down looking building and said," That's it!" With that they both braked hard to drop their speed and pulled into an old decayed parking lot, killing and getting off their vehicles.

"The rest of them should be here any minute," Yusei noted. "Jack and Crow don't waste time, and Aki doesn't live far from here." And sure enough, just as he finished, Wheel of Fortune and Blackbird pulled around the corner and into the parking lot as well, parking opposite Yusei and Kyojo before Jack jumped from his ride.

"Yusei," who's that?" Jack asked, pulling his helmet off. Moments later a look of awe consumed his face when Kyojo pulled off his helmet and mask, revealing his identity, and then pulled off his jumpsuit to reveal a black leather trench coat with several spike and belts. Furthermore, his black jeans were decorated with chains, and a skull belt buckle placed over a length of chain completed the look.

"How you been Jack?" Kyojo asked. Taking note of Jack's expression he added, "I know it's a surprise, but at least it's a chance to catch up?"

"Jack, you know that guy?" Crow asked in amazement, smiling on glory at the sight of Ryukishi Kyojo.

"I gave Rex Godwin my Deck to hand down to him before I left town," Kyojo answered. "Jack has been the owner of my Deck for some time I suspect, Haven't you?" Smiling in pride, Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out the mentioned Deck, wrapped in a bandana that it had been given to him in, where Kyojo grabbed it before pulling out a black Duel Disc whose Deck Zone faced backwards and was behind a single Monster Zone.

"I've treated that Deck well, and it in turn has served me well," Jack said.

"As I suspected," Kyojo joked, punching Jack's shoulder with the underside of his fist to avoid stabbing Jack with is spiked knuckles. As they laughed, the sound of footsteps made them all turn around, where they saw Aki, Lua and Luca all standing there with Duel Discs on their arms. When they saw who was with the group, they stared on in disbelief.

"Now that we're all here," Yusei declared, "I think it's time you tell us what's going on."

"Indeed," Kyojo answered. "Now come on in." Waving at everyone, they all formed a procession and walked into the building, Kyojo at the fore and Crow at the rear, and the door shut behind them. They thought that no one had seen them; however, moments later, the fake Judai stepped out from around the corner.

"It seems the Summoner has led the Signers to the rendezvous site after all," he said to himself, before pulling up his collar and speaking into it. "I've found the meeting point. I'll survey the scene and identify the traitor."

"Remain at a distance," Placido's voice instructed back. "Survey, do not engage."

"Understood." Releasing his collar, he stepped up to the door and passed through it, turning into black static matter as he did so. On the other side he regained his form, and followed a pathway down to a set of doorways with a magnetic lock. _"Do these morons really think I'll be stopped by such trivial measures?"_

Stepping up to the door, the fake Judai began to pass through the doorway, causing a storm of black and red electricity before he finally passed through. On the other side, he found himself at the top of a ridge-like shelf, looking down upon the Signers and the Summoner below.

* * *

Walking down the aisle of the impound centre, Ushio took Judai's deck and placed it into a security slot. Inside, the Deck was locked by a force field, and then sealed it with a fingerprint scanner. Turning, he walked away thinking nothing more of the situation.

When Ushio had gone, Yubel's spirit materialized from behind the Deck and smiled at the situation. _"Well Placido, time to see what you're up to,"_ she thought, stepping down from overtop of the deck and teleporting amongst the aisles. Eventually she came up behind a sleeping guard, holding an override key to the locks. _"Bingo."_

Stepping up behind the guard, Yubel grabbed him by the shoulders and sinking into his body. The guard woke up a second later, his eyes glowing orange, and he stood up and began walking back to the Deck. When she finally arrived, she used the guard's key to unlock Judai's Deck and put it in her pocket before reclosing it.

Yubel then slipped out of his body, taking the Deck with her, and that caused the Guard to collapse before she teleported out. Just before she did, she chuckled and thought, _"And now to find out what's really going on."_

* * *

The room in which the gang had stepped into was very similar to an old theatre, since it had been used as a nightclub that Kyojo's mob connections ran. Stepping up into the stage, Kyojo looked down upon the Signers, Johan and Lua, and said,

"Signers, Lua, Johan it's time you learned the other thuth about what's been going on in the five years since Zero Reverse…"

"Hold on: five years?" Crow questioned, interrupting Kyojo. "Zero Reverse was 17 years ago."

"It was and it wasn't," Kyojo explained. "When the negative energy generator exploded, the passage of time was affected. 12 years' worth of time occurred in mere seconds, and all the events of those 12 years became memories of events that never occurred. In that timeline, Godwin became the leader of Yliaster, but that brought in its own dark agenda."

"We're all familiar with the Brothers Godwin and what they did," Jack saying, angry at the memories of the Dark Signer incidents and being used in the Fortune Cup.

"Except that the Brothers Godwin were themselves mere pawns, long before the King of the Underworld corrupted them."

"Yliaster is in fact the force to blame for their corruption, in addition to many other things," a female voice issued from behind a curtain. Stepping out from behind it, a young woman with mousy brown hair and piercing green eyes, wearing one of Yliaster's white robes.

"Mt friends, this is my associate and ex-girlfriend, Yusuriha," Kyojo explained. "She's been undercover in Yliaster's ranks since Zero Reverse, and she's even gained a high ranking in Placido's administration.

"Why did she go undercover?" Crow asked.

"When we knew Godwin years ago," Yusuriha explained, "he was a good and kind man with strong morals, as was his brother. We wanted to know what could possibly turn them from that and cause such destruction, and the best way to do that was to enter into Yliaster, where Godwin was leader."

"Except that Godwin wasn't the leader," Kyojo interjected. "He was a totem leader. The previous leader went missing after Zero Reverse, so Godwin was named leader of Yliaster. It was assumed the old leader died, but we discovered he had gone underground and was still calling the shots through Godwin."

"And that leader was Placido," Yusei realized, receiving a nod from both Kyojo and Yusuriha.

"The Brothers Godwin were swayed by something Placido told them," Kyojo added. "We have no idea what, but it corrupted them both beyond repair. Godwin operated in conjunction with Placido for some time, away from the eyes of both the public and Yliaster. The cover-up was Placido's idea. And after Godwin died, Placido took his time to rejoin so he could create himself a new past."

"And that is why we brought you here," Yusuriha concluded. "We need your help to cleanse this world of Placido's corruption. But you cannot do it alone; it is the Dragons you wield that will help you."

"The Five Dragons are powerless against the Infinity," Yusei said.

"Not the Five Dragons," Kyojo countered. "The Saviors." Reaching under his coat, Kyojo pulled out a blue pendant and threw it into the ground below, where it erupted into a vertical column of blue light that showed through a human form. When the light died out, it revealed the dirty-blond, gold-eyed man in a purple and gold-trimmed trench coat and boots and black underneath.

"Taiyou!" Johan yelled, the only one who recognized the man.

"Glad to see I'm missed," Taiyou said sarcastically. Tu4rning t the crowd, he looked down upon them with a far more honoured expression, as though looking upon royalty, and bowed to the Signers with an arm crossed over his chest. Kyojo and Yusuriha quickly did the same, and then Taiyou added:

"It is my honor to be a servant of the Signers and the CRomson Dragon, a task with which fate has charged me. I now intend to carry out my task, beginning with returning a certain card to its rightful owner." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a card and tossed it at Crow, who caught at with enthusiasm; but when he saw it, he looked up at Taiyou in confusion.

"What the hell's with this card?" Crow asked. "It's damn near blank."

"It was never completed," Taiyou explained, Yusuriha chiming in to complete the analysis.

"The Dragon's spirit was ripped from its mortal vessel and trapped in the soul of a demonic spirit. With its body gone, its card could not be made. But now its soul is free, and in the hands of its rightful owner." When she finished, the card lit up in Crow's hand, causing everyone to look at it in awe. Before their eyes it changed shape completely, including the image, and text and a Level then appeared.

"Black-Feather… Dragon?" Crow questioned, not knowing what to think and pausing. Seconds later, he smiled and declared, "I'll carry this dragon's spirit with the honor it deserves."

"Then with that finished," Taiyou said, raising his arm and producing a Duel Disc. It was black and dark purple, with gold trim and green zones; and it was almost the same as Johan's while infused with Yubel, save that its dome was emblazoned with the Magic Counter triangle. "I request a Duel with the Leader of the Signers, the bearer of the Head Birthmark."

Raising his own arm, Yusei stepped up onto the stage, before he pulled off his glove and pulled back his sleeve to reveal the Dragon's Head upon his arm. When Taiyou nodded, Yusei put his clothes back as they were and pulled on his Duel Disc, activating it as Taiyou's three blades extended out. Both players then positioned themselves at opposite ends of the stage (Kyojo and Yusuriha getting down into the crowd), pulled 5 cards, and yelled,

"DUEL!"

Yusei: LP 4000

Taiyou: LP 4000

"I take the first move," Yusei declared. "Draw! Magic Activate: One for One! I send Gauntlet Warrior from my hand to my Cemetery, and I Special Summon Tuning Supporter from my Deck (ATK: 100, LV: 1)." As Yusei inserted his card into the Cemetery slot, a light exploded off his Deck that released his small wok-headed robot.

"Next I activate Tuning. I add Debris Dragon from my Deck to my hand, and send 4 cards from the top of my Deck to the Cemetery." A card then slid out of his Deck, which he grabbed before pulling his top 4 cards and putting them into the Cemetery slot one by one. As he did, they were revealed as Junk Synchron, Turret Warrior, Equip Shoot and Fighting Spirits.

"I Summon Debris Dragon (ATK: 1000, LV: 4)!" In front of Yusei appeared his small white dragon with long thin wings, orange orbs on its chest and pieces of green armour that growled as it appeared. "When this monster is Normal Summoned, I Special Summon 1 monster with 500 ATK or less from my Cemetery in face-up Attack Position with its effect negated. Return, gauntlet Warrior (ATK: 400, LV: 3)!"

Beside Yusei's two existing monsters formed the image of a thick blue warrior with a massive right hand armed with a red gauntlet, who flexed it as he formed. "Yusei has set up the conditions on his first turn," Johan realized.

"Indeed," Kyojo said, crossing his arms just as Jack did.

"I Tune my Level 4 Debris Dragon to my Level 3 Gauntlet Warrior and my Level 1 Tuning Supporter!" Roaring, the dragon released 4 white orbs off each wing that changed into green rings before it disappeared; these rings surrounded the two other monsters and changed them into 3 and 1 white orbs respectively, where they formed a column of light.

"The clustering forces will invoke a new shooting star. Become the path its light shines upon. Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" The light was dispersed by the beating of two extremely long white wings that belonged to Yusei's three-horned dragon with purple orbs on its chest, as it shrieked and flexed its muscles when it appeared.

"_Stardust Dragon... it's good to see you again, old friend,"_ Taiyou thought as the dragon stared at him.

"Due to the effect of Tuning Supporter," Yusei declared, "I draw 1 card from my Deck." Pulling his new card, he quickly checked it before taking it and his middle hand card and placing them into Magic & Trap Card Zones. "I set 2 cards and end my turn. Come, Taiyou; show me your power as a Summoner."

Sneering as he reached for his Deck, Taiyou bowed and strongly said, "Thy wish is my command. It's my turn. Draw!" Pulling his card and extending his arm our horizontally, he moved it forward between his index and middle fingers and issued, "Magic Activate: Terra Forming! From my Deck I select 1 Field Magic Card from my Deck and add it to my hand. I select Magical City Endymion, and then I activate it!"

Instantly, a bright light illuminated from Taiyou's Deck and exploded off him to cover the field, where it began to take form. Eventually it solidified into the shape of a massive city with a tall tower at its centre, surrounded by floating buildings and luminescent rings. "Permanent Magic: Indomitable True Strength! Once in one turn, if I control no monsters and my opponent does, I may Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Dual Monster from my hand. Come, Crusader of Endymion (ATK: 1900, LV: 4)!"

Rising up before Taiyou, a tall, thin figure in brown clothing with several sections of navy armour along its body, including limb plates suspended with magic and a full-head helmet that hid its face, emerged in a fighting position, and seconds later a white light illuminated above Taiyou's head. When it stopped the card of the City appeared, with an orb forming in front of it bearing a yellow triangle. _"Taiyou's bringing his best moves early on to give the Signers a real test,"_ Yusuriha realized in her head.

"When a Magic Card is activated," Taiyou explained, "A Magic Counter is placed on this City. It also gains any Magic Counters on destroyed cards, and it may use its own counters to pay the costs of other cards. Finally, it may pay 1 of its own counters to negate its destruction by a card effect."

"I see," Yusei retorted. "Then there will be many Counters added to that monster by the duel's end."

"Equip Magic: Superbis!" Taiyou declared, an aura forming around the monster after this was declared and another counter appearing on the City's card. "The equipped Dual Monster is treated as an Effect Monster and gains its effect. Therefore, once in one turn, Crusader may place 1 Magic Counter on 1 card on the field, and then it gains 600 ATK for this turn only (ATK: 2500)." With that yet another counter was added to the City, and Taiyou's monster roared out to show its power.

"It has the same 2500 ATK as Stardust Dragon," Johan realized, looking on in shock.

"The effect of Stardust Dragon will protect it from destruction by card effects…" Luca started, Aki picking up almost instantly.

"…But it has no protection in battle, especially with its low ATK."

"Crusader, attack Stardust Dragon! Wrath of the Magician Deity!" Rising up into the air, the magical figure threw its armoured fist into the mouth of the dragon, which had been forming energy in its jaws. Upon collision an explosion occurred, making both monsters explode in a burst of smoke.

"Yusei's Stardust Dragon has been destroyed," Lua said, slightly nervous. "But at least that guy's monster is gone too."

"Don't be so sure," Jack said, Lua looking worried as Taiyou smirked.

"Because Superbis has been sent to the Cemetery," Taiyou stated as the card shattered, "I may Special Summon 1 Normal Monster from my Cemetery. And since Dual Monsters in the Cemetery are treated as Normal Monsters, return: Crusader of Endymion (ATK: 1900, LV: 4)!" After the card shattered, a white light shot up from Taiyou's Cemetery slot and the image of the navy-armoured figure returned, uttering a battle cry.

"This is bad," Lua yelled out. "Yusei's about to take real damage!"

"I'm not giving up on Stardust that easily," Yusei said, waving his arm over his right Trap as it rose. "Permanent Trap: Wicked Reborn! I pay 800 Life Points and Special Summon 1 Synchro Monster from my Cemetery. Return, Stardust Dragon (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" From a light in the sky came a shower of stardust that solidified into the white dragon, which let out a screech as it returned to the field.

Yusei: LP 3200

Taiyou: LP 4000

Grunting, Taiyou issued, "Your monster has more ATK, so I'll end my Battle Phase. In my Main Phase 2, I activate Magic Seize! With this effect I place 1 Magic Counter on my City, and add another Magic Seize to my hand. Therefore, my City gains 2 counters!" The card in Taiyou's hand dissolved into a light that shot up to the city's card, forming a counter beside another one as Taiyou's deck gave him another card.

"In his next turn," Crow realized, "he'll have more than enough to summon _that card_."

"Since I have not conducted my Normal Summon this turn, so I will Second Summon my Crusader and place 1 Magic Counter on my City!" Glowing the magic figure produced a light that shot up to the card, joining the other counters which were quickly accumulating.

"I set 1 cad and end my turn," Taiyou said confidently. "Come Yusei; show me the power of a Signer!"

"Then I will," Yusei declared as he drew his card, flipping it around instantly and picking out another card from his hand. "Magic Activate: Treasure of Harmony! I discard 1 Dragon-type Tuner and draw 2 cards. I discard Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon." As everyone looked on in shock, Yusei took the mentioned dragon and placed it in the Cemetery while he drew 2 cards.

"Don't forget, Yusei," Taiyou stated, pointing at the card, "that every Magic Card you activate places 1 Magic Counter on my city as well." As he said this, yet another light appeared amongst the others and solidified.

"Very well," Yusei declared, holding up the card already in his hand. "Magic Activate: Sublimation Lift! When a Synchro Monster is face-up on my field, I Special Summon 1 Savior Dragon and 1 Level 1 monster from my Cemetery!" 2 cards instantly slid out of Yusei's Cemetery and he placed them onto the tray. One of them was his small robot with the wok-head (ATK: 100, LV: 1), and the other was the red dragon with segmented wings he had just discarded (ATK: 0, LV: 1). After that, another counter appeared on the card above Taiyou's head.

"What?" Taiyou yelled out in surprise as everyone else looked on in surprise. "You've set up the Summoning Conditions for one of those monsters already?"

"I Tune My Savior Dragon to my Stardust Dragon and Tuning Supporter!" All three monsters rose up into the sky created by the field card, the small robot releasing a single white orb that entered the body of the white dragon before vanishing. That dragon then folded up its own wings and changed into an outline form of itself with 3 white orbs in each wing and one each in its neck, torso and tail. The red dragon then became a huge spirit form that swallowed the line dragon, its orbs forming a line inside a green ring.

"The clustering forces will invoke a new miracle," Yusei chanted. "Become the path its light shines upon. Synchro Summon! Descend down in light, Savior Star Dragon (ATK: 3800, LV: 10)!" From the body of the red dragon exploded a vertical column of white light that touched down behind Yusei, releasing the vertical body of the four-winged blue and silver wyvern as it hissed out in power. "And due to Tuning Supporter's effect, I draw 1 card!"

"I'm ecstatic Yusei," Taiyou said with a smile, staring up at the face on the dragon as it stared back at him. The tips of its power wings were resting just above the ground in front of Yusei, its upper ones extended out across the span of buildings. "I've seen the power of a Savior monster first-hand, and now I'll see its use."

"Magic Activate: Sublimation Energy! With Savior Star Dragon now in play, I draw 3 cards from my Deck." Pulling his 3 cards, Yusei saw out on the corner of his eye another Counter form in front of the city's card. "Then I equip Savior Force to my Savior Star Dragon!" Extending up from the card in Yusei's hand, a green aura extended off the card and covered the Dragon as another counter appeared. "Savior Star Dragon, attack Crusader of Endymion! Sonic Destruction Burst!"

Hissing, the dragon spread its wings and instantly shot up hundreds of feet into the air, turning horizontal and then tipping forward as it shot down at Taiyou. At this time, Taiyou raised his right arm and flipped a set card. "Trap Card: Dimensional Confinement! I exclude the attacking monster!"

"At this moment, I activate Savior Star Dragon's effect. By releasing this monster, I negate the opponent's card effect and destroy all cards they control. Stardust Nova!" Turning vertical again, the dragon glowed an intense light blue right before several beams of light shot off it and hit all the cards in front of Taiyou.

"By the effect of my City Endymion," Taiyou declared, "I remove 1 Counter from my City to negate the destruction." After that one of the counters disappeared from the card and a barrier formed around the card, protecting it from the beam of light.

"For your Field Magic," Yusei commented. "However, all your other cards will still be destroyed." With that the beams caused Taiyou's Magic Card and Trap Card to shatter, right before the monster before him groaned in pain and exploded. The dragon the let out a hiss before dissolving into stardust, but the aura off of it shot back down to the ground and caused the white dragon from earlier to reappear with a roar.

"That's this?" Taiyou asked, unsure of what to make of what had just transpired.

"When the equipped Savior Monster is removed from the field," Yusei informed, "I Special Summon its Synchro Material Synchro Monster from my Cemetery. Therefore, Stardust Dragon (ATK: 2500, LV: 8) has returned. Stardust, direct attack the player! Shooting Sonic!" Roaring, the dragon shot a burst of white energy straight through Taiyou's torso, the ectoplasm making it up simply reforming after the attack.

Yusei: LP 3200

Taiyou: LP 1500

"I remember when I used Stardust, Taiyou said, smiling at the fond memories. "It's just like I remember."

Nodding, Yusei smiled lightly and said, "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Draw!" Taiyou declared. "Magic Activate: Magic Seize!" The card then disappeared from his hand right before a new one materialized and 2 new counters appeared on the card for the City. "Next I activate Angel's Gift!" Pulling his 3 cards one by one, Taiyou smirked as he saw his draws and placed 2 cards in his Cemetery – a monster card and Magic Seize. Then, yet another counter joined the card. "t this moment, I activate the effect of a monster in my Cemetery!"

"What?" Yusei akse,d stunned. "The only monsters in your Cemetery are Crusader and…" Yusei's eyes went wide as he realized what had happened.

"He's set up that card's summoning conditions, hasn't he?" Jack asked of Kyojo, prompting the Texan to respond with,

"Yep."

"My removing 6 Magic Counters from my City," Taiyou declared as his Cemetery glowed, "I may Special Summon this monster from my Cemetery. With 12 Counters on my City, I have more than enough. Come, Divine Magician Deity Endymion (ATK: 2700, LV: 7)!"

Six of the counters lined up vertically and formed a vertical gateway of light, releasing a black-armoured magician with a purple cape, gold trim on his armour and a golden circle on his back encrusted with Magic Counters, a Devil-horned mask with red hair above it, and a staff with a Magic Counter inside a sun-like shape.

"The time has come to pt the Signer to a true test," the magician spoke, his gaze fixed upon Yusei as the white dragon roared at him. "My apprentice, show them the true power of Endymion."

"By the effect of Endymion-sama, I can add 1 Magic Card from my Cemetery to my hand. I choose Angel's Gift, where I activate it!" A card slid out of the Cemetery, where Taiyou immediately put it back and pulled 3 cards, discarding 2 of his new ones and placing another counter on his city. "Equip Magic: Halberd of Endymion! This card may only be equipped to an Endymion monster, and it then gains 500 ATK for every face-up Endymion card. I equip this to the Magician Deity (ATK: 4200)!"

At the end of Endymion's staff formed a long recurved blade with an axe-like head on its front and back, embedded with Magic Counters, and another counter was added to the city. "Attack Stardust Dragon!"

"Feel the Judgment of the Magicians, beast," Endymion said solemnly, jumping up into the air with its sword extended and slashing the dragon in half vertically. It screamed out in pain before it exploded, causing Yusei to cover his eyes and grunt in pain himself.

Yusei: LP 1500

Taiyou: LP 1500

"Trap Card: Afterglow of a Miracle!" Yusei declared, flipping a card to his left. "I Special Summon 1 monster destroyed by battle this turn. Come to us, Stardust (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" Once again the white dragon rose up from behind Yusei and shrieked, its wings moving rather frantically as Endymion stared at it coldly.

"That dragon never did know when to stand down," Taiyou observed. "I activate Spellbooks of the Pot, so we both draw 3 cards!" As another counter formed, both he and Yusei pulled three cards from their Decks and looked at them, Taiyou smirking. "I set 1 card and end my turn."

"Draw!" Yusei declared, but he didn't have time to look at his card before Taiyou flipped his own card and yelled out.

"Trap Card: Mutual Destruction! Since we both have 3 cards or more in our hands, we both now discard our entire hands, taking 100 damage for each card we discard, and then we draw 5 cards!" Sneering, Taiyou threw out his three cards and pulled 5 new ones while Yusei had to toss out six. Before he pulled his new cards he looked down at his Deck and retreated into his own head.

"_This might be my last chance at securing this match. If not, I've lost, and I won't dishonor my charge in doing so. I must succeed. I must!"_ With new vigor, Yusei ripped up the five new cards from his Deck and pulled them out his side, and as he did so all the Signer marks around the room glowed and disappeared. Confused, the Summoners looked on for a few seconds before they aw the mark of the Crimson Dragon's seal on his back.

Yusei: LP 900

Taiyou: LP 1200

"Thank you, Taiyou… for giving me a duel by which to surpass my limits and evolve my duel! I Activate 2 Permanent Traps: Limit Rebirth and Angel Lift!" Flipping the cards, Yusei's Cemetery lit up and two cards slid out. "Revive: Tuning Supporter (ATK: 100, LV: 1)! Savior Dragon (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" when Yusei slapped the cards down onto the tray, the small wok robot and the red dragon reformed on either side of the white dragon, causing Taiyou to look on in confusion.

"Your Savior Star Dragon is used up," Taiyou stated. "Reviving those monsters is pointless."

"No move is pointless," Yusei said, flipping a Spell Card around. "I activate Shining Rebirth, and I Synchro Summon Savior Star Dragon from the Cemetery!"

"Amazing," Aki and Luca stated in unison as Yusei's three monsters dove up into the sky and his Cemetery lit up again, his red dragon becoming enormous and swallowing the nine orbs that the two other monsters became.

"The clustering forces will invoke a new miracle. Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Descend down in light, Savior Star Dragon (ATK: 3800, LV: 10)!" The red dragon exploded into light, releasing the form of the gigantic metallic dragon with 4 wings as it hissed at Endymion, its eyes locking with the magician's.

"That is the monster whose power I sensed," Endymion confirmed as another counter joined those on the city and Yusei drew a card from Tuning Supporter's effect. "There can be no doubt."

"I activate Savior Star Dragon's effect," Yusei stated. "Once per turn, I may negate the effect of an opponent's monster until the End Phase and have my dragon gain that effect. Sublimation Drain!" Endymion's body then burst out into several white flares of energy, making him groan and grunt in frustration and weakness as the orbs joined the body of the dragon, once again hissing at Endymion.

"You've absorbed the effect of Endymion?" Taiyou asked in shock. "But, the monster equipped with Halberd of Endymion cannot be targeted by Monster effects!"

"Then I will target your Halberd of Endymion!" Yusei declared. "I activate Endymion's effect as that of Savior Star Dragon! I discard Domino and destroy Halberd of Endymion!" A blue orb of energy formed from the jewel on the dragon's forehead, which then fired a shot of blue energy into the blade and caused it to explode. "Now, Endymion's ATK returns to normal (ATK: 2700). Savior Star Dragon, attack Endymion! Sonic Destruction Burst!"

Once again the dragon instantly rose up nearly a thousand feet into the air and shot downwards, folding its wings against its body before it turned into a stream of dark blue energy. The magician was struck dead centre in the chest by the energy before it continued on and through Taiyou, making him scream as the dragon returned to its original form on the other side.

"I'm sorry, my apprentice," Endymion said, turning to the duelist. "I've… failed you…" And with that Endymion exploded, the energy stream's full force turning on Taiyou.

"And I… you…" As Taiyou screamed in pain, the energy stream exploded in his side like a mortar, shredding the ectoplasm of his left arm and torso and making him fall on his knees. Seconds later the spiritual material recollected and he got up, but his Life Points had taken a near fatal hit.

Yusei: LP 900

Taiyou: LP 100

"Magic Activate: Arms Hole," Yusei declared, pulling his top card (revealed as Shield Warrior) and placing it into the Cemetery. "I add Savior Force from my Cemetery to my hand, where I activate it." Pulling the card from the slot, Yusei placed it into the Magic & Trap Card Zones and called back the green aura around his dragon. "I set 1 card. During the End Phase, my Dragon does not return to the Extra Deck. I end my turn."

Taiyou looked on at Yusei with a tense look on his face, and in anger he said, "Do you think this is funny Signer? Is my misery and pain a thing of fun to you? You discarded my master as though he was nothing, and for that I harbour no forgiveness!"

"That's not it at all!" Yusei retorted. "I meant no disrespect for you or your master."

"Save it! Draw!" Pulling his card, Taiyou look a card in his hand and Put it down. "Magic Activate: Dimensional Magician's Technique! I remove 1 Magic Counter from my City and Summon a Magic-User monster from my hand without Release. Come, Cybernetic Magician (ATK: 2400, LV: 6)!" A Magic Counter exploded from the card of the city and formed a dimensional rift through which a magician in a silver trench coat with blond hair and a small staff appeared, looking on at the massive dragon.

"That monster," Crow noted. "That's not good for Yusei."

"He'll be fine," Aki said. "My Yusei doesn't fall so easily."

"Maybe, but neither does Taiyou," Kyojo answered gravely.

"I activate Cybernetic Magician's effect! I discard 1 card and make Savior Star's ATK 2000 for this turn!" Taking a card and sliding it into the Cemetery, the dragon was surrounded by a field of static-like glitter that weakened it, causing it to hiss in anger.

"I next remove 6 of the 12 Magic Counters on my City to raise my Divine Magician Deity Endymion from my Cemetery (ATK: 2700, LV: 7), and add Halberd of Endymion to him (ATK: 4200)!" With a burst of light the black-clad magician returned with the blade on the end of his staff, and then he looked to at the dragon and said coldly,

"It is time to slay this beast."

"Agreed," Taiyou said. "Endymion-sama, attack Savior Star Dragon!" Jumping up, Endymion raised his blade to slice at the dragon, but Yusei responded with a quick and stunning counter.

"Trap Card: Sublime Absorb! When the opponent attacks my Savior monster, I discard my entire hand to halve the ATK of the attacking monster (ATK: 2100) and return my Dragon's ATK to normal, then increase its ATK and DEF by 1500 (ATK: 5300!) Savior Star Dragon, counterattack!" Hissing as its power rose and Endymion's fell, the dragon formed an orb of bluish energy in front of its fused face that shot as a stream at the black-clad magician.

"This… can't be!" Taiyou yelled as Endymion swung its blade up to block the energy, grunting as he strained to stop the blast. He fought valiantly, but seconds later the blast overpowered Endymion and shot over him completely, exploding him before striking Taiyou with the force of a meteor.

"_How very interesting..."_ the fake Judai though from up above. _"Such power and fighting spirit, of both duelists... they'll make excellent weapons for the cause..."_ With that he faded out into a black static mist, leaving to trace.

Yusei: LP 900

Taiyou: LP 0

After the blast hit, the Solid Vision lining the field around them began to disappear and the dragon roared out, bursting into a massive beacon of light. Everyone had to cover their eyes while it faded out, and when they opened them nothing was left of the duel. Deactivating his Duel Disc, Yusei walked over to Taiyou, whose Disc had disappeared and who was standing there solemnly.

"That was an excellent duel," Yusei said, expecting Taiyou to shake his hand. Instead, Taiyou, Kyojo and Yusuriha all got down on one knee and bowed to him and the other Signers, standing up again just before Taiyou said,

"You are truly worthy of your roles as Signers. I apologize for my outburst earlier; I wanted to test thee, but thy fighting spirit did not waver."

"This can be our hideout for a few weeks while we formulate a plan of attack," Kyojo stated. "In that time, we need to finish this ceremony."

"What does that mean?" Lua asked.

"The remaining Saviors need to be called forth," Yusuriha explained. "Luca and Crow are the only ones not to have done so, and thus we need to get you to invoke that power."

"If that is what it takes, then I shall do so," Crow said, bowing to the white-clad woman.

"As will I," Luca added. "I'll give it all my fighting spirit."

"But we still need to do one thing," Johan interjected. "We need to get Judai. He's our friend and ally, and he'll be very useful to us in this fight." Everyone nodded to this.

* * *

As Judai sat in the metal chair, his face down in his crossed arms, he heard the sound of the door open and two pairs of footsteps entering. Looking up, he saw the two officers involved in his arrest and said, "Are you finally going to interrogate me? I've been sitting in here for hours, and I'd rather not stay much longer."

"That's too bad," one of them said, "Because you're not leaving anytime soon."

"Except to come with us," the other said, as Judai stood up and they advanced to grab him.

"I don't think so," Judai retorted, his irises changing to the golden ones of Haou Judai. When one man grabbed for him, Judai jumped up backwards onto the table and leapt over him, turning around seconds before they did. He then took a swing at one and hit him in the face hard enough to knock him back against the table, and he grabbed the other one and threw him backwards against a wall for the same result.

"Sayonara, bastards," Judai then issued, closing the door behind him and making a mad dash through the hallways. _"Now to get my Eck back and find out what Placido's angle is..."_

* * *

"It seems our prisoner has escaped," Placido said sourly, observing the footage of Judai's breakout during a video conference with Jose and Lucciano.

"Shall we send people after him?" Lucciano asked, a sadistic smile over her face.

"No, let's not," Jose answered. "We should focus our efforts on the Signers."

"Agreed, but we shall keep tabs on him," Placido answered, turning off the screens after saying that.

"He's not the only person we should be tracking," the fake Judai said from behind Placido. Turning around, the man could see that his copy was standing against the wall, arms crossed and with one foot parallel to it. "I found our Mole."

"Excellent," Placido smiled.

"And, I know just how to get our message across…"

* * *

Running into the maintenance exit of the station, Judai found himself surrounded my mechanical devices but not any officers. He had not seen a single officer since he had arrived, and he was now very suspicious of it. _"I'm not where they say I am, am I?"_

"_No, I don't think so,"_ he heard Yubel's voice answer in his head. Turning around, he saw his Duel Spirit standing against a doorway, clearly waiting for him. She then said, "I think this is an underground facility."

"I know where the elevators are," Judai stated, having seen many when he came through this place."

"Then let's go." With that Yubel disappeared back into the depths of Judai's mind and soul, his Deck materializing into his Deck Box on his waist. He then started running toward the elevator, desperate to escape.

**Card of the Week – Taiyou**

**Divine Magician Deity Endymion**

**Type: **DARK

**Level:** 7

**Family:** [Magic-User/Effect]

Effect: This card can be Special Summoned from the hand or Cemetery by removing 6 Magic Counters from [Magic City Endymion]. When this monster is summoned in this way, add 1 Magic Card from your Cemetery to your hand. Once per turn, activate by discarding 1 Magic Card and selecting 1 card on the field. Destroy that card.

**ATK/** 2700

**DEF/** 1700

* And so the plot moves forward… review if you wish.*


	4. Yuki Judai: Friend of Foe?

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 4 – Yuki Judai: Friend or Foe?! **

At the mouth of a utility exit to the building, an elevator rose up to its platform and opened. Judai stepped out, looking around for any sign of armed guards or workers, before he jumped out and ran to the open door. Stepping outside, he could see the edge of an island, and when he turned around he saw what was going on.

"This is… Godwin's old property," he realized, remembering the final battle six months earlier. "They've turned in into some kind of storage facility."

"_The official records will probably say you were taken to the Neo Domino holding facility," _Yubel realized. _"The only reason you wouldn't be..."_

"Is if the charges were fraudulent," Judai realized, angry at this whole situation. "I'll bet those two weren't officers, or that Ushio doesn't know what's really going on."

"What's going on is none of your concern," a feminized voice issued from behind Judai, making him turn around. Behind him he saw Jaeger walking towards him, carrying some objects wrapped in a silk bag.

"It started to concern me when you dragged me and my friends into it, you effeminate little bastard." Instead of glaring, Jaeger simply walked up to him and dropped the package at Judai's feet, turning and running back into the facility before Judai opened it. When he opened it, Judai saw his tattered coat and bloodied, damaged Duel Disc.

"_I thought the officers told us the Duel Disc and coat were never recovered,"_ Yubel said. _"That was the main hole in your story."_

"Then either they lied, or…" Flashing back, Judai remembered the end of his duel with the robot and the black aura that had leapt off it after it exploded. "Something's not right." Reaching into the Duel Disc's cell phone compartment, he pulled out the device and, upon discovering it still worked, he hit Yusei's speed-dial number.

"_Who's this/" _Yusei asked on the other end.

"It's Judai," came the reply. "I'm out at Godwin's old residence."

"_Why are you there?"_

"That's where they've been holding me."

"_That's good news,"_ Yusei said on the other end. _"We're sending Jack and Kyojo to get you. Hang tight."_

"Understood." With that that line disconnected and Judai put the phone away, saying, "I need to get a new Duel Disc if I'm to be any use."

Judai did not notice, however, the fake Judai standing right behind him, smiling evilly before disappearing. Yubel did not sense him either, but they both heard it when he vanished into a static aura. Looking around in confusion, they decided it was power lines and stopped looking around.

* * *

At a warehouse down in the Satellite, near Godwin's mansion, the fake Judai appeared out of his black aura, sneering as he pulled a cell phone out of his own Duel Disc. He had copied Judai's contacts, so he called up Jack and said, "There's been a change of plans. I've had to run from some guards and I'm in Satellite, in an old storage facility."

"_How did you cross the water?"_ Jack asked, sounding perplexed.

"I found an old Jet Ski and I crossed the channel," was his reply.

"_Alright, we'll be there before sundown,"_ Kyojo said on the other end, the line cutting out at that point.

"Then this will be a good show," the fake Judai said, putting the phone away. _"I know you're close to the traitor, Jack Atlus, and I'll give you a message for her you'll not forget to deliver."_

***

Nearly an hour later, the Wheel of Fortune and Kyojo's D-Wheel pulled up just outside an old, rusted warehouse just outside the B.A.D., where they had been told to meet him. Kyojo quickly dismounted and pulled off his mask and helmet, while Jack got off and then helped Carly Nagisa off as well. She was now wearing a new dark blue jacket instead of her older orange and white striped one, and was wearing contacts instead of her glasses.

"Are you sure Judai said he'd be here?" she asked, looking around. "That doesn't seem like something he'd do." She continued to look around in suspicion as she pulled out a camera and notebook from a shoulder bag, planning to talk to Judai for a story for the Daily Duel.

"Wolves in traps will chew off their own paws to escape captivity," Kyojo answered philosophically. "If he found himself in a tight spit, he'd certainly come here."

"Even so," she retorted, "is Judai the kind to be that desperate?"

"Not from what I remember," Jack said. "But this is where he said he'd be."

"Let's split up and look for him," Kyojo suggested. "I'll take the main doors."

"I'll look in the logging rooms," Carly offered.

"That leaves me with the main holding rooms," Jack deduced. With that, the three of them went into the main door of the building and went in separate directions. Jack was quick to make his way to the first main storage room, seeing nothing around him but torn sheet metal from the walls.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of a voice laughing indistinctly. He was confused because he could see no one around, but when he heard it again he recognized it. "Judai… where are you…?" Jack asked.

"I'm right here," Judai's voice answered. "I've been waiting, Jack…" with that a green light burst up from the floor in the shape of the infinity symbol, one side of the double loop surrounding Jack while the other's light revealed the fake Judai. Though his clothes and eyes were darker and colder, the green glow emulsified this and he looked like the real Judai. "I've been waiting for a long time."

"Why did you have us come all the way out here?" Jack asked, turning to the loops before asking, "And what are these about?"

"You'll see," the fake Judai answered, raising his left arm and triggering his Duel Disc. When this occurred, the doors to the room slammed shut and glowed orange for a second, with smoke pouring off of them afterwards. Jack realized that this Judai had welded the doors shut, but he could not tell how or why.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked forcefully. When Judai did not answer, but just smirked and chuckled darkly, he bellowed out, "Answer me to what I tell you!"

"What's wrong, Jack?" Judai asked jokingly. "Surely you don't object to a friendly duel between friends."

"Something's not right," Jack stated aloud, pulling on his Duel Disc and activating it. "But I accept your challenge!"

"That's what I thought." With that, both players pulled 5 cards and yelled,

"DUEL!"

Jack: LP 4000

"Judai": LP 4000

"I'll allow the King to lead," Judai smirked, seemingly enjoying Jack's reaction to being called the King in such a sarcastic manner.

"Don't talk down to Jack Atlus!" Jack yelled, drawing his card. "I summon Intercept Daemon (ATK: 1400, LV: 4)!" From a blue vortex on Jack's field emerged a fiendish-looking, sex-armed figure dressed like a football player, who growled angrily. "I Set 3 cards and end my turn."

"Then I draw," Judai stated, pulling his card and looking at his hand. "Magic Activate: Emergency Call. From my Deck I add E-HERO Bubbleman to my hand, and I summon him (DEF: 1200, LV: 4)." Pulling up his Deck, Judai picked out a card and placed it on the tray, causing his blue warrior with white cape and tanks on his back to appear. After shuffling his Deck he added, "When Bubbleman is Summoned and I control no other cards, I can draw 2 more cards."

"I'm familiar with that card," Jack said in irritation as Judai pulled his 2 cards.

"Come now Jack, stop being so bitter," Judai issued. "I too set 3 cards and end the turn."

"Draw!" Jack issued, pulling a new card. "Trap Card activate: Dragon's Vein! I release 1 monster and Special Summon 1 Dragon of the same Level from my Deck. Come, Axe Dragonute (ATK: 2000, LV: 4)!" The football demon faded out, only to be replaced by a black and purple human-shaped dragon wielding a battle axe. "Next I activate Angel's Gift!"

"Is the King not happy with his cards?" Judai asked mockingly as Jack pulled 3 new cards and placed 2 in the Cemetery.

"Shut up! Permanent Trap: Boosting Resurrection! I Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster from my Cemetery with 100 more ATK and DEF and its Level 1 higher. Return, Tuner Monster: Magna Drago (ATK: 1500, LV: 3)!" From Jack's Cemetery ea light shone out and a small red dragon with brownish wings and a pair of tusks emerged, roaring at Judai in anger.

"I see. A Tuner Monster," Judai issued. "So, Jack, are you going to Synchro Summon Explode Wing Dragon?"

"Please, like I'd waste such a useful trump monster on you!" Jack issued. "I tune my Magna Drago which has become Level 3 to my Level 4 Axe Dragonute!" Roaring, the dragon released 3 white orbs from its jaws and vanished, changing these orbs to green rings. These then surrounded the axe-wielding dragon, making it roar as it became an outline of itself and vanished, forming 4 white orbs.

"The Ruler's Battle General shall now lay siege upon the enemy!" Jack roared. "Behold its power as it lays waste to all in its path! Synchro Summon! Soul of Destruction, Burst Cannon Dragon (ATK: 2800, LV: 7)!" Out of the light created from the burst of force emerged a massive black dragon, one with enormous fan-like wings, very long legs and tail, a crested head and a pair of cannon-like forearms each with 3 claws on them. "And because this monster inflicts Penetration Damage, I attack Bubbleman! Hellfire Cannonball!"

"Trap Card: Hero Shield!" Judai declared, flipping the card. "I equip this to Bubbleman, and prevent its destruction by sending this card to the Cemetery." From the mouth and hands of the dragon erupted three streams of fire that struck the blue warrior, causing the flames to cover Judai, but he merely stood there as they covered him. When they died down, he pulled 1 card.

Jack: LP 4000

"Judai": LP 2400

"It seems your plan has been thwarted, King," Judai declared, expecting an angry glare back from his opponent. However, he was surprised when Jack merely grinned back.

"Jack Atlus does not have his plans thwarted by riffraff like you, Judai!" Jack yelled as his card flipped. "Trap Card: Hell Flare's Road! I knew your monster would be saved by an effect, so this card was set earlier. It can only be activated when a Synchro Monster attacks and fails to destroy its target. Then, it destroys all Defence Position monsters on the field!"

The blue warrior on Judai's field screamed as it burst out into red flames, exploding as Jack fanned through its Extra Deck. "And next, I call out Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" Behind jack appeared a huge tower of fire that extended up to the 40-foot-high roof of the building, from which 2 grey taloned hands emerged and formed fists. Within the fire appeared the form of mainly grey dragon armoured with several pieces of blood-red armour, a face seemingly made of grey patches with red flesh in between and two-clawed wings with dark red membrane.

Exploding out of the fire, the monster roared at Judai in a hostile manner. Judai, however, stared up at the beast and laughed sadistically. When Jack stared on in confusion, Judai issued, "You're too predictable Jack. You summon that monster for your own entertainment, even against people for whom you hold total disdain. Such heroic nonsense."

"Nonsense?" Jack growled. "How dare you call my dragon nonsense?! I'll show you nonsense! Battle!" Suddenly, a loud thud issued at the metal door, and a second later Kyojo came barging through, having tackled the door open. Behind him Carly rushed in, and as he stood up Kyojo saw what was going on.

"Jack, no!" He yelled. "The damage is real in these duels!"

"Absolute Power Force!" Jack yelled, ignoring the black-clad biker duelist. Roaring, his dragon's right fist burst into flames and it swung this fist straight at Judai. Seconds later the fist collided, causing an explosion that ignited Judai's side of the field. Realizing what had happened, he yelled out, "No! What have I done?"

Seconds later, however, the flames burnt out and were reduced to smoke. Through that smoke, the maniacal laughing of Judai could suddenly be heard, and then seconds later the smoke began to waft aside. Through it, Jack could see a single glowing yellow eye: Judai's left eye. The right side of his face had been blasted apart, but the three watched in horror as the face healed and reformed.

* * *

Standing at the gate to Godwin's old property, Judai had grown impatient from waiting for his friends, which showed through the angry expression on his face. As the sun had begun to sink below the clouds, he pulled his cell phone out and dialed Yusei's number. On the other end he heard Aki pick up, and with some irritation he heard her say, _"Where the hell are you and the others?"_

"The others?" Judai asked in angered confusion. "Nobody's shown up here yet!"

"_Stop playing games Judai!"_ Aki threatened. _"Jack, Kyojo and Carly arrived at the warehouse half an hour ago!"_

"Warehouse? What warehouse? I'm at Godwin's old place, the same as I said."

"_What are you talking about?"_ By this time Aki's tone had changed to total confusion, and she said, _"You called Jack and told him to meet you at a warehouse in Satellite. You said they chased you there."_

"They? I'm apparently the only one at this place. What the hell's…" at this moment Judai's face gained a look of stunned realization, looking over at the Duel Disc and coat Jaeger had brought him, and he said in total shock to the female Signer, "Aki, listen to me now. I think someone's impersonated me and led Jack and Kyojo away from me."

"_What? Impersonating you to lure them! But… why?"_

"To lure them into an ambush," Judai stated flatly and with urgency dripping from his voice. "Get Yusei and Johan the fuck over here now! We don't have any time to waste! My Duel Disc is trash and I need a new one, so tell them to bring one."

"_Right away,"_ Aki said before hanging up. After he heard the line sever, Judai's anger boiled over and he lashed out, punching the wrought iron gate in anger and cutting his hand in the process.

"Damn you, Placido!" Judai yelled, turning around and gritting his teeth. "Damn you to hell!"

* * *

"What the hell's going on here?" Jack asked, watching as the figure, the thing, calling itself Judai laughed on hysterically, Kyojo and Carly looking tense as they processed the situation. "This duel should be over!"

"And it would be," the figure answered, "If I had not activated my Offensive Guard! Thanks to this, my Battle Damage from a Direct Attack is halved, and I draw 1 card." Pulling his card, the figure sneered as Jack realized he had just been played.

Jack: LP 4000

"Judai": LP 900

"Enough of this charade!" Kyojo spat. "Who are you and why the fuck are you impersonating our friend?"

"Impersonating?" the figure asked, looking surprised by the accusation. "I'm not impersonating anyone. Don't you recognize your old friend Judai, Kyojo?" With that the fake Judai's eyes began to glow yellow, making all three people on his opposite side look at him in total shock for a few seconds. When his eyes stopped glowing, they all resumed like nothing had happened.

"I set 3 cards and end my turn," Jack said. "It's your turn, Judai."

"Then I draw," the fake Judai issued, pulling yet another card. Turning angry, it then stated, "The time has come, Jack, to show you just what kind of crown you've gained, King. Choke on your hubris!"

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked, looking at 'Judai' like he'd just shot a man.

"You left me to rot in that cell!" the imposter yelled angrily, his eyes changing to Yubel's eyes in an instant. "Instead of showing me you cared and being a good friend, you showed me your true face and left me behind. I mean nothing to you, and now it's time I showed you exactly what I thought of you!"

"Judai… I…" Jack stuttered, feeling horrid over his friend's suffering and guilty over his alleged part in it, but Judai continued to stare on coldly.

"Magic Activate: Double Fusion! By paying 500 Life Points, I perform 2 Fusion Summons in a row. So first, I fuse my Featherman and Burst Lady in my hand to summon… Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (ATK: 2100, LV: 6)!" Holding up 2 cards, the forms of a green-feathered male warrior with bird's feet and a red-clad female warrior appeared and spiraled together, forming a green warrior with a red right arm ended with a dragon head, a white wing on its right side and a mouthless face with elven ears.

"Next, I fuse Flame Wingman with Sparkman and Summon… Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" Holding up another card, a golden-armoured dark blue warrior in a visor appeared and spiraled together with the previous figure. Out emerged a glowing green-skinned warrior in silver armour with a long helmet and bladed wings, screeching as it came into view.

"Judai's ace HERO," Carly realized. "Jack could be…"

"For each Elemental Hero Monster in my Cemetery," Judai declared as he held up his Duel Disc, "Shining Flare Wingman gains 500 ATK. There are currently 5 Elemental Heroes in my Cemetery, so its ATK is 4000!"

"If this attack connects, then Jack…" Carly began to fret, with Kyojo cutting her off angrily.

"Judai, stop this now! It's my fault that Jack and the others didn't come for you! Don't take it out on Jack!"

"Then I'll deal with you later," Judai sneered, before turning and pointing at Jack. "Battle! I attack Red daemon's Dragon with Shining Flare Wingman!"

"The King is prepared for any move!" Jack yelled. "Trap Card: Roar of Pride! I pay 1000 Life Points, and the ATK of Red Daemon's Dragon becomes 300 higher than that of your Shining Flare Wingman (ATK: 4300)!" Roaring while its power increased, the Dragon looked at the glowing warrior as it approached.

Jack: LP 3000

"Judai": LP 900

"You think I'd be so naïve as to rush in head-first into such an obvious trap?" Judai asked, sneering and acting sarcastically hurt. "I'm insulted. And now, I'll show you how I take that. By sending Honest to the Cemetery, I add your vile Dragon's ATK to my Shining Flare Wingman's (ATK: 8300)!" Flipping over the card, everyone looked on in shock as the warrior glowed even brighter and its power increased.

"No, Jack!" Carly yelled. "Stop this, Judai!"

"I'll not halt me revenge for some whiny bitch!" Judai yelled "Shining Orb Shoot!"

"Trap Card: Shock Reborn!" Jack declared, flipping a card. "I have my Battle Damage and summon 1 monster with 2000 or less ATK from my Cemetery!" With that a field of energy built up around Jack's dragon just before the warrior threw a green orb of energy at the dragon. A huge explosion issued and the concussive force knocked Jack forward onto his knees while his Life Points fell.

Jack: LP 1000

"Judai": 900

"Return!" Jack yelled, forcing himself back to his feet. "Magna Drago (ATK: 1400, LV: 2)!" After the hit a huge electrical field of sparks formed around Jack's Cemetery, eventually releasing a burst of power that revealed the form of the red dragon as it roared out.

"So you mamanged to survive my monster's battle damage," Judai sneered. "No matter; by the effect of Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman, damage equal to the ATK of the destroyed monster…"

"Is dealt as damage to the opponent," Kyojo realized, half-gasping and half growling bitterly. "If Jack receives this damage…"

"Jack, don't lose here!" Carly yelled as the glowing silver warrior got closer to Jack, beginning to glow even brighter as it did so.

"Counter Trap: Damage Polarilyzer!" Jack bellowed, snapping his fingers and flipping his card. Another electrical field then sparked up around the glowing warrior, shocking it and making it retreat to Judai's field. The man then growled in annoyance as Jack explained, "By the effect of this card, I negate a Damage Effect and have both players draw 1 card."

"You've eluded defeat for now," Judai issued as both he and Jack drew their cards. "But I'll have you defeated yet. I set 2 cards. Come now, King; show me your true power, if that even exists."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked angrily, sensing a negative implication in Judai's words.

"Signers claim that their power comes from the bonds of friendship they hold," Judai explained, stating things in a matter-of-fact way while sneering. "But clearly such things are a lie to you. You don't value friendship; you only value your own power! You're so narcissistic that you felt to reason at all to fight for my friendship. So tell me; who else have you lied to? Are you just using Crow and Yusei for your own goals? How about Kyojo, or that girl Carly?"

"Shut up!" the blond duelist roared. "Don't speak ill of that which you cannot comprehend. It's clear that a lone wolf like you knows nothing of true friendship."

"I'd rather be a lone wolf than a broken lion that's lost its fangs," Judai sneered, Jack growling loudly. "Kisama no turn."

"Draw!" Jack declared, pulling his new card. "I Tune my Level 2 Magna Drago to my Level 7 Burst Cannon Dragon!" With a half-oar half-hiss, the red dragon changed into an outline of itself that released two white orbs, one from each of its wings, before it disappeared. These orbs became two green rings, surrounding the larger black dragon and changed it into an outline containing seven white orbs. The outline then vanished and the orbs formed a column of light.

"The screams of the high ruler shall call upon a new pitch-dark soul," Jack chanted. "It shall spread its wrath upon the world, and destroy all at its feet. Synchro Summon! Soul of the Devil, Giant Boar Dragon (ATK: 3300, LV: 9)!" From the light, four long, thick wings emerged, followed by a pair of large taloned paws, a long bladed tail and massive legs. After that, the whole animal emerged: a blood-red and dark-grey monster with a many-horned face of jagged teeth, masses of muscle and a blood-curdling scream.

"I see," Judai smirked. "Without your ace monster, you've resorted to bigger and uglier dragons."

"Go ahead and laugh," Jack sneered. "After all, this beast will be your destruction. Magic activate: Avarice Pot!" From his Cemetery emerged his Red Daemon's, Burst Cannon Dragon, Magna Drago, Axe Dragonute and Intercept Daemon cards, which he grabbed and slipped into his Deck. It then automatically shuffled and he drew 2 cards, looking at Judai with confidence after he did.

"Drawn good cards? Good; you'll need them."

"He's right," Kyojo realized. "Judai's Deck always has a trick up its sleeve."

"I've got a move right up my sleeve," Jack issued. "Magic Activate: Tempest! I destroy all Magic & Trap Cards on the field!" Rising up from the ground, a massive wind shook all of Judai's cards and shattered them, making Judai cover his face as Jack smirked.

"Because Dummy Marker was destroyed by an opponent's effect while set," Judai explained, "I draw 2 cards!"

"And your monster is left wide open!" Jack issued. "Magic Activate: Soul Release! I exclude the five E-HERO monsters in your Cemetery!"

"What?" Judai asked angrily, looking down to see his Cemetery light up and the five cards eject. After that, the power of his monster fell (ATK: 2500).

"The time is now to strike!" Jack yelled, pointing at the warrior. "Giant Boar Dragon, attack Shining Flare Wingman!" Roaring, the monstrous dragon jumped over to where Judai's monster was and bit it in half, creating a shockwave that sliced through Judai, causing his body to reveal black matter that sparked with electricity for a second before it healed.

Jack: LP 1000

"Judai": LP 100

"Hey, what the hell is this?" Kyojo asked, seeing the strange behaviour of Judai's body. "Enough mind tricks! I thought Judai was possessed before, but now I know."

"Know what?" Judai asked, acting slightly confused and amused.

"You're an imposter! You're not emitting Haou's or Yubel's energy, you're not acting like Judai and you're certainly not dueling the way he does. Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Judai," the figure still insisted, "and I'm offended you'd think otherwise. Finish your move, Jack, so I can prove it!"

"Very well. When this dragon destroys a monster by battle," Jack explained, "I draw 1 card." Pulling his card, he took it and the card in his hand and jammed them into slots on his Duel Disc. "I set 2 cards and end my turn. Now you imposter, show us who you really are!"

"You people and your disbeliefs," the fake Judai stated. "If I weren't the real Judai," could I do this?" Closing his eyes, he reached for a card from the top of his Deck, grabbing it and swinging his arm back as he yelled, "Draw!" When he opened his eyes, he bore the orange and green irises of Yubel.

"It's another trick," Kyojo blurted. "I can't sense Yubel's presence, so she isn't within you. The real Judai has that spirit bound to his soul!"

"Then in that case," the imposter stated, his voice gaining a mechanical undertone as he spoke, "Allow me to show you what Judai's Deck is capable of. Magic Activate: Take Over Five! When I play this card, I send my top 5 cards to the Cemetery." Pulling 5 cards from his Deck, the imposter revealed E-HERO Neos, N-Flare Scarab, N-Ground Mole, E-HERO Edgeman and E-HERO Bubbleman Neo and placed them in the Cemetery one by one.

"Sending his cards to the Cemetery like that," Carly pondered, "why would he do that? Unless…"

"Magic Activate: Miracle Contact! I return the Fusion Material Monsters of a Neos Fusion Monster from my Cemetery to the Deck, and Summon that monster. I Choose to return Neos, Ground Mole and Flare Scarab, so I may Summon Elemental Hero Magma Neos (ATK: 3000, LV: 9)!" One by one the cards slid back out of their slot and the fake Judai took them, placing them back in the Deck where its matter dematerialized and reformed seconds later.

Up from the ground then rose a column of lava, through which the silhouette of a monster could be seen. As Jack looked on in disbelief and the others in shock, the Judai double chuckled darkly as the lava dispersed, revealing a mostly brown armoured warrior with one arm made entirely of molten rock, the other armed with a power claw; its shouler pads and lower legs in black, gear-like armour, and a brown face with blue eyes and a carapace with two long wings down its back. On its chest sat a gem, and its stomach and inner thigh area were stark white.

"For every card on the field," the fake Judai explained, "Magna Neos gains 400 ATK. At this moment there are 4 cards in play, so his ATK becomes 4600!"

"_If I receive an attack from this faker," _Jack realized,_ "I've lost. But my Synchro Deflector and Magic Cylinder should protect my monster from his attacks."_

"Magic Activate: Neos Quake!" The imposter yelled, shocking Jack, Kyojo and Carly stiff. "When a Level 8 or higher Neos Fusion Monster is face-up on the field, during this turn, all the opponent's Magic, Trap and Monster card effects are negated and cannot be activated during the Battle Phase only."

"What?" Jack bellowed as a radiant wave of neon energy shot off the card, covering his two set cards and leaving him wide open for an attack.

"He can't stop that thing's attack now," Kyojo realized.

"Then Jack will…" Carly sobbed, before turning to the fake Judai and blurting, "Whatever the hell you are! Stop this!"

"It stops here," the fake Judai stated in reply, pointing at Jack's monster. "Magma Neos, attack Giant Boar Dragon! Super Heat Meteor!" Raising its molten arm to the air, the warrior shot a stream of flames up nearly to the roof, where they formed into a molten ball of lava. Then, with a swinging motion, the warrior shot this orb down and towards the dragon, which received the blow and exploded.

Jack yelled out in anger and pain as the smoke from the explosion instantly consumed the place. Through this cloud of blackness the maniacal laughing of the fake Judai could be heard, before it faded out and he was no longer audible.

Jack: LP 0

"Judai": LP 100

"Jack, are you alright?" Carly asked as she and Kyojo ran through the smoke to where Jack was. The smoke quickly died down and revealed Jack to have fallen on his knees, soot clinging to his coat and the marks from the battle scorched into the ground. Jack was shaking in anger, and he suddenly snapped, hitting the ground with both fists.

"What the hell is going on here?" Jack asked angrily, deciding to get to his feet. "Where's the real Judai?"

"Well, it would stand to reason that he's where he said he was," Carly suggested, getting an irate glare from Jack before backing off.

"Then we left him there," Jack realized.

"We couldn't have foreseen this," Kyojo retorted.

"This… isn't possible…"

"How can there be two Judai's? What is this imposter?" Kyojo asked.

"Hey, what's going on?" Carly suddenly asked, prompting the others to turn around. Looking down, the two men saw that she had a digital camera with some pictures of the duel on it, which had been on a timer, but where the fake Judai had been there was nothing.

Going through the pictures quickly, the group kept looking for something that would tip them off, until they reached the part of the duel where the fake Judai's body had come apart. As they passed it, Jack thought he saw something and issued, "Wait! Go back!" Flipping back to said picture, a field of electrical sparks became apparent on the frame, causing the image to become grainy.

"What's going on Carly?" Kyojo asked. "Why's the image to fuzzy?"

"I… don't know…" Carly stuttered, "…but the rest of the images are fine…"

"There was some sort of burst at that point…" Jack realized. "I thought it was the result of the ring, but…"

"…The entire entity was just some electrical field…" Kyojo interpreted. Seconds later, the fluorescent light above the group began to hum and flicker, and the sound of static electricity filled the air.

"The place has become charged from the duel." Before anybody could say anything more, however, there was a huge explosion from above, and they had to time to react before the roof and walls collapsed…

* * *

The following morning at the storage area where Judai was, he stood up from sitting on a crate as he heard the sound of electric motors, and turned to see Yusei and Crow pull up on their D-Wheels. As they got closer, Crow tossed Judai a red and black jacket and a Neo Domino Duel Disc in black with red trim, which the duelist quickly put on as the others stopped and got off their vehicles.

"What the fuck is going on Judai?" Crow asked, shoving Judai in frustration. "Are you trying to screw with us?"

"Why would I do that?" Judai spat in anger, disgusted by the insinuation.

"You don't seem to understand what true friends are for. We're not so you can have fun by splitting us up and sending us on wild goose chases."

"What exactly am I supposed to have done?"

"Jack and Kyojo aren't answering their phones," Yusei explained, Crow cutting him off with further ranting before Yusei could explain anything.

"First you sent them to a wrong location, then you convince us to come here, and then on top of that you make the others turn off their phones!"

"I never told Jack and Kyojo to go to the wrong spot," Judai asserted. "I thought Aki told you that. And I haven't called anyone since that; my phone's battery is dead."

"She didn't tell me anything. I heard where you were from Yusei."

"We just assumed that Jack and Kyojo were told to go to a new location, but when we learned the call was fake…"

"Wait, call?" Crow asked, pulling out his phone. "I got a text from Jack saying he's been texted… What the fuck is going on?!"

"I think… Placido is behind this…" Judai uttered.

"But… how?" Yusei asked. Seconds later, Yusei's phone vibrated and he pulled it out, seeing the caller to be unknown. Answering it, he stated, "Who is this?" Shocked by what he heard seconds later, he handed the phone to Judai with a stunned look on his face and said, "I think you should heard this…"

Picking up the phone, Judai placed it to his ear and listened intently. From the other end of the line, he heard a distorted version of his own voice issue, _"Having fun yet?"_ The voice sounded amused and there was even a slight chuckle on the other end, but Judai instead sneered and growled.

"You bastard!" he yelled into the phone. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing all this for?"

"_I'm showing people what you could have been, had you not instead sided with the Signers like a sheep."_

"What have you done with our friends?" The answer came in the form of a video message that registered seconds later. Going to the inbox, Yusei and Crow gathered round as Judai opened up the video, showing Kyojo, Jack and Carly all standing around, looking at a camera and talking amongst themselves right before the lights began to short and the building exploded. The loud sound and bright flash caught them off guard, terrifying them as to their friends' fates.

"_This is what happens to those who defy the power of Yliaster."_

"What the fuck do you want?!" Judai yelled into the phone, but before an answer came the line went dead.

* * *

Inside the old Sky Temple, the interior throne room had been converted into a very new form which gave it a whole new look. The walls had been painted white, with circuit-board patterns running along them and a cloudy energy gathering around the base. Rising up through this were three tall thrones, at each one sat Placido, Jose and Lucciano, staring into an orb screen at the base showing the reactions of Yusei, Judai and Crow to the news.

"Are we sure this is the proper venture to pursue?" Jose asked of Placido, who had resumed his white robed appearance. The younger man merely smiled back and said,

"If we can create enough stir amongst the Signers and their friends, we can split their solidarity apart and manipulate them."

"Why should we waste so much energy on such a venture when we could simply manipulate them en masse?" Jose countered, almost immediately being answered by the disembodied voice of the fake Judai.

"Because your friend Placido is far too attached to me by now." Seconds later a field of black and red static formed beside Placido's throne, spawning the fake Judai's form as he leaned against the structure.

"Your dueling skills are a near perfect match to your namesake," Lucciano complemented, smiling darkly as she spoke. "But… you were far slower at defeating Jack than I had hoped."

"Care to show me that you can do any better, runt?" Judai's double said, offended, standing up and glaring angrily at the female Infinity Member. In response, the woman raised her hand and began to shock him with an opposing current, causing him to scream out as his body's form began to revert to its static state.

"That's enough, Lucciano," Jose stated, making the woman frown sarcastically before ceasing her current. The fake Judai then quickly regained his shape and stated,

"Besides, I've managed to duplicate Jack's Deck as well now," he stated, sneering as his voice temporarily changed to a distorted version of Jack's. "The power of the King is in our hands."

"You've done well, X," Placido stated, smiling and closing his eyes. "You may rest until I call upon you again."

"As you wish," X stated again in the distorted Judai voice, bowing with a crossed arm before disappearing. Turning back to the others, Placido then stated,

"And to fruition nearer draws our plan…"

**Card of the Week – Jack**

**Giant Boar Dragon**

**Type: **DARK

**Level:** 9

**Sub-Type(s):** [Dragon/Synchro/Effect]

**Effect:** 1 Dragon-type Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Dragon-type monsters

When this card destroys a monster by battle, draw 1 card. During your End Phase, if this card did not attack, discard 1 card.

**ATK/** 3300

**DEF/** 3000

*And as of this point in time, the plot is really getting going. Review if you wish.


	5. The Two Kings!

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 5 – The Two Kings! Tag Ride, Kyojo & Jack **

Back at Godwin's old property, Yusei and Crow stood at a distance as Judai began to lose his temper, grabbing objects from the storage bay and throwing them about in frustration and anger. Under his breath he began to curse, first quietly and gradually getting louder. At one point he picked up a huge piece of old jagged metal and threw it in Yusei's direction, the man barely dodging it before yelling at Judai, "That's enough!"

"It'll never be enough!" Judai yelled back, tears beginning to form at the edges of his eyes as he sank onto his knees and began to punch the ground again and again. "No matter how much we fight, somebody else wants to fight us! And they're doing worse and worse things to us and our friends!"

"Chill the fuck out!" Crow yelled, rushing over to where Judai was in time to kick him in the face. As a result the brown-haired man fell over onto his side, where Crow proceeded to kick him in the ribs repeatedly as well. "I'm sick of your fucking emo fucking bullshit, you fucking…!"

"Get off me!" Judai interrupted loudly, quickly flexing to grab Crow by the ankle and throwing him up against a crate. The man then quickly got himself up, his eyes changing to Yubel's green and orange eyes as he did. He then stated, "If you touch me again, I'll do far worse."

"You don't scare me, bitch!" Crow yelled, flipping off Judai with both hands. "What the fuck is wrong with you? You need to stop being so high-strung!"

"Ah yes, forgive me for giving a damn that our friends were just attacked by someone who looks, sounds and duels like me!"

"Stop this, both of you," Yusei interjected. "Fighting amongst ourselves does none of us any good!"

"Such wise words from the mighty Yusei Fudo," a distorted-sounding version of Judai's voice issued, echoing along the walls of the open hangar. From the doorway an electrical sound began to ring out just before a field of red and black electricity formed there. While the three men looked on in awe, the disembodied fake Judai voice echoed out laughter just before the electricity took on the form of Judai, albeit with darker colours and lightless eyes.

"This guy…" Crow issued through gritted teeth.

"Kisama!" Judai snapped. "What do you want here?" Instead of answering, his imposter simply chuckled darkly and closed his eyes, irritating Judai. "Answer me! Who are you?"

* * *

In the Satellite's B.A.D., the remains of the once huge warehouse lay smoldering and heaped, scrapped metal lying twisted as though they had been spun like rope. In the middle of the heap, where the main room had been, pieces of broken glass from the old light and old drums littered the metal, and an arm with a white sleeve and a silver glove-like piece lay sticking out of the wreckage.

Suddenly, the hand clenched into a fist and the heap shifted. Without warning the form of Jack Atlus broke its way up through all the metal as the man rose up, pieces of scrap metal falling off. Several cuts were along his face and arms, but nothing severe. Looking to his right, seconds later the black-clad form of Kyojo also burst through the metal, his sunglasses busted and a bleeding wound from his left temple.

"Where's Carly?" Jack asked with urgency, prompting both men to look on opposite sides of the metal graveyard. Picking up random pieces to look to the bottom of the wreckage, eventually Jack heard Kyojo yell from across the yard,

"I found her!" When Jack turned back around, he saw the Texan holding up Carly's unconscious form under his right arm. As the blond man got closer Kyojo said to him, "She's got a bad wound to her back, and she won't wake up, but she's got a pulse."

"She needs medical attention stat," Jack realized, reaching into his pocket for the leftovers of a roll of bandages from two nights ago, quickly wrapping it around the wound. "Does she have any more injuries?"

"She might have a broken wrist, but no more bleeding wounds. I'll put her on the back of my D-Wheel and we'll take her to the hospital in Neo Domino."

"I'll take her," Jack insisted, prompting Kyojo to hand the woman to Jack. They then made haste running over to their D-Wheels, quickly getting their riding suits on and loading into their vehicles. Both started up quickly, and so the two men made a rapid shot at the Daedalus Bridge.

"What the hell do you think that was about?" Kyojo asked Jack via their helmet's headsets, the oxygen pressurizing Kyojo's making him sound deeper-voiced than in reality. "Who was that fake Judai, and what did he want?"

"I get the feeling Placido is involved," Jack responded, noticing that they had reached the base of the bridge. When they got to about midway, however, their D-Wheels' consoles became electrified and they began to shock the men, just before 2 D-Wheelers on back motorcycle-like rides shot past them.

"Jack Atlus," one of the two figures stated, his voice sounding mechanical and robotic.

"Ryukishi Kyojo," the other stated, his voice sounding almost the same.

"Damn it, more Riding Roids!" Kyojo grunted, getting Jack's attention.

"Riding Roid? What is that?" Jack then asked, prompting his friend to respond with,

"Robots trained to duel and catch criminals. They were commissioned by Placido and his new Security Task Force, but one recently dueled Yusei to keep him from finding Judai."

"Then they won' let us go until we out-duel them."

"That is precisely true, Signer," one of the robots stated. "If you want to get where you're going, winning a Riding Duel is all you can do."

"Alright then," Jack issued. "Kyojo, you take one and I'll take the other. We can split up."

"I have a better idea," the Texan stated. "How's about we have a good old-fashioned Tag Ride?" Sneering inside his helmet, he saw the look of confusion on the robot's faces and Jack's look of apprehension.

"Tag Ride?" Jack asked, worried about the prospect of dueling two robots after his previous duel with the fake Judai. "Are you sure?"

"Why not? You and I can show these robots how it's done in no time flat." As Kyojo looked at Jack, he saw the look of nervousness evaporate and be replaced with his usual confidence. "What say you, my student?"

"I have not a thing to say to my mentor," Jack issued, "But to these robots I say: Behold the duel of the past and present King!" Reaching for their consoles, all four figures pressed the button on to activate their autopilots. Kyojo then thrust his backwards-looking black Duel Disc into the console as well, where the tray attached, rotated 180 degrees, and extended out into a full tray.

"Riding Duel!" The two robots declared at once as everyone drew five cards, after which Jack and Kyojo yelled,

"Acceleration!" With that the whole field was surrounded by the aura of Speed World 2, and the two robots became parallel while the two men did the same.

Jack & Kyojo: LP 4000

Riding Roids: LP 4000

"I'll take pole position," Kyojo yelled, six hydraulics-like tubes extending off the seat of his D-Wheel and attaching to his helmet, causing Jack's visor to display to him Kyojo's hand. "I draw! I set 3 cards and end my turn!" Between Kyojo and Jack appeared three set cards one by one, which all disappeared after they all formed.

"You call that the move of a King?" one of the robots asked. "You can't even summon a monster on your first turn, when it most counts."

"_Actually, it was a very tactful move,"_ Kyojo thought, knowing Jack was on board with his move.

"_Kyojo must have known that I had Vice Dragon in my hand,"_ Jack realized. _"Rather than but monsters into play to interfere with its effect, he set up protection for us so I can summon my ace monster quickly. I just hope he can summon Trident Dragion without my help."_

"It's my turn," the robot declared, drawing a card (Jack & Kyojo: 1 SPC/Riding Roids: 1 SPC). "I summon Blade Knight (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)!" A blue vortex formed between the two robots, releasing a blue-armoured black-clothed warrior with a red-hilted sword and a shield. "I also activate Speed Spell – Count Up, and by discarding Mystic Swordsman LV4 I increase our SPC by 2 (Jack & Kyojo: 1 SPC/Robots: 3 SPC)!"

"He's emptying his hand to fulfill Blade Knight's effect," Jack realized. "Kyojo, I hope you've got a plan."

"Don't sweat it," Kyojo cheered.

"Oh, but do sweat it," the robot issued. "I set a card, and activate Speed Spell – Speed Energy, so Blade Knight gains 600 ATK for our 3 SPC. Next, because there's only one card in my hand, Blade Knight further gains 400 ATK (ATK: 3000)!" The blue-armoured warrior let out a low grunt right before its power grew; but rather than panic, Kyojo simply flipped one of his cards.

"Trap Activate: Threatening Roar! The opponent cannot declare an attack during this turn."

Looking on disdainfully, the robot said, "I end my turn, so Blade Knight loses 600 Attack strength (ATK: 2400). You've proven that you can hold off enemy attacks, Kings. Now show us that you can fight like the best of us."

"You want a fight?" Jack issued, reaching for his Deck. "Well then, allow this King to draw his sword. It's my turn (Jack & Kyojo: 2 SPC/Riding Roids: 4 SPC)!" Snapping up his card at lightning pace, he placed it in his hand tray and then grabbed an existing card within it to hold up. "When only my opponent controls a monster, by halving its attack and defence strength, I Special Summon Vice Dragon from my hand (ATK: 2000, LV: 5)!"

Slapping his card down on the tray, a blue portal appeared in between himself and Kyojo, releasing a large muscular purple dragon with a hulking body like a dinosaur's, long thin wings with green membrane, and massive hands with three huge claws. The monster let out a violent roar that made the robots look on in worry. "Next, I play Speed Spell Angel Baton!"

"That's what I'm talking about Jack!" Kyojo issued, clearly enthused at Jack's declaration and thus making jack smile as well.

"This card may be activated if I have 2 or more Speed Counters. Due to this card, I draw 2 cards and place 1 card from my hand into the Cemetery." Grabbing his Deck, Jack grabbed two cards from the top and brought them up to his visor so Kyojo could see as well. Seeing one that interested both, Jack looked into his hand and pulled the card Small Piece Golem to place in his Cemetery.

"I summon the Tuner Monster Flare Resonator (ATK: 300, LV: 3)!" Another blue vortex then appeared, releasing a robed raccoon-like demon with a tuning fork in one hand, a rod with a red glass orb in the other, and a patch of red flames on its back. "Next, I Tune my Level 3 Flare Resonator to my Vice Dragon!" Clanging its tuning fork into its glass orb, the burning monster changed into 3 white orbs that further morphed into green rings, surrounding the purple dragon and changing it into 5 white orbs.

"The heartbeat of the ruler will now file through here," Jack chanted. "Take witness to its creation-shaking power! Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" The green rings disappeared as the five white orbs changed into a column of light, which burst out into dark-red flames. From the column of fire emerged a clawed grey hand which formed a fist, followed by a second one, similar-looking feet, a blade-tipped tail and a pair of wings with two bone supports and red membrane. Through the flames could be seen the chiseled, armoured form of the dragon, complete with the two glowing yellow eyes on its three-horned head.

"Next, since Flare Resonator was used in a Synchro Summon," Jack explained, "Red Daemon's gains 300 ATK (ATK: 3300)!" Roaring loudly, the dragon flexed its limbs and the flames around it were dispelled, revealing the blood-red and dark grey body of the dragon and its large-scaled face. "Red Daemon's Dragon, attack Blade Knight. Absolute Power Force!" With another loud roar the dragon formed a fireball in its right hand and swung it at the armoured warrior, much to the chagrin of the robot.

"Trap Activate: Holy Barrier – Mirror Force!" the robot declared, flipping his card over. "Your very soul is about to be defeated by this Trap Card."

"Not if I have anything to say about it he won't!" Kyojo yelled, acting defiant before the robot.

"Oh really? According to the rules of Tag Dueling, you can't play any cards!"

"No, but I can play the cards he set," Jack affirmed. "And there are still two left. Counter Trap: The Evil Temple's Bribe!" With that the aforementioned card appeared, causing the robot to mechanically gasp. "I negate the activation and effect of an opponent's Magic or Trap Card and destroy that card, but my opponent then draws one card."

"Oh well," Kyojo added smugly. "A small price to pay for what that gives us!" The trap card in front of the robots shattered just before Jack's flipped trap disappeared, and with that the robot drew a card. Then, however, the dragon swung its fireball-laden fist at the armoured warrior, the flames consuming him before he exploded in a cry of pain. The flames released from the explosion then covered the robot, causing his damage both to his Life Points and his D-Wheel.

Jack & Kyojo: LP 4000

Riding Roids: LP 2700

"That should teach this scum of Placido's corruption the consequences of mocking a King!" Jack yelled angrily. "I set 4 cards and end my turn!" _"I managed to Synchro Summon Red Daemon's due to Kyojo's card, and now we're in the lead because of it. I know Kyojo will pull out a powerful monster in his next turn, but I wonder what that will be."_

"It's my turn. Draw (Jack & Kyojo: 3 SPC/Riding Roids: 5 SPC)," the second robot declared, the first robot literally going silent as this one pulled his card. "I activate Speed Spell – Power Slip! When our SPC is 4 or higher and we control no monsters, we gain Life Points equal to those of the opposing monster with the highest ATK!" From Red Daemon's Dragon an aura of green energy appeared, the beats growling angrily and Jack looking on distastefully as the Riding Roids' Life Points increased.

Jack & Kyojo: LP 4000

Riding Roids: LP 6000

"Damn it, we've lost our advantage," Jack muttered under his breath, though it was not above Kyojo's hearing via their wireless hookup.

"Relax jack," Kyojo affirmed. "I'll just have to deal massive damage to make up for it. And believe me, I certainly will!"

"Your damage won't have any impact on us," the robot countered. "I summon Marauding Captain (DEF: 400, LV: 3)!" A new blue vortex formed between the two Riding Roids' D-Wheels, producing a moderately-armoured warrior with blond hair and tanned skin that was holding a pair of different swords. "And next, through its effect, I Special Summon Big Shield Gardna (DEF: 2600, LV: 4)!" From the same blue vortex appeared a large-bodied warrior behind a massive spade-shaped shield. Then, both warriors turned blue.

"I set 2 cards and end my turn. On our next turn, Jack and Kyojo, we can mount enough cards to fully destroy your monsters and your Life Points."

"You're bluffing," Jack issued. "There's no way you can possibly do that."

"Then just wait and see."

"There's no next turn for you," Kyojo boasted, surprising the robot and even Jack. "It's time I showed you that this old King can still lead his troops to victory! It's my turn (Jack & Kyojo: 4 SPC/Riding Roids: 6 SPC)!"

"Now you're bluffing Kyojo," the first Riding Roid declared.

"Wanna bet? I activate Jack's Jar of Greed Trap Card, and I draw one additional card." Flipping up the Trap Card, Kyojo pulled a new card and instantly reached for one already in his hand. "Next I too play Speed Spell – Angel Baton!" With the card he had just drawn still in his right hand, he pressed it against his palm as he pulled 2 new cards and slotted the one he'd already drawn into his Cemetery Slot.

"Ready Jack? 'Cause you're about to see a real show!"

"Go for it!" Jack declared, making Kyojo smile in confidence.

"I summon Debris Dragon (ATK: 1000, LV: 4)!" From the blue vortex emerged a small white dragon with 4 orange orbs on his body, two on its chest and one on each shoulder, as well as long wings with grey membrane, three head horns and a pointy nose horn. "With this monster successfully summoned, I Special Summon 1 monster with 500 ATK or less from my Cemetery in face-up Attack Position. I resurrect the Minkie Dragon I just discarded (ATK: 400, LV: 2)!"

Right beside the white dragon beside Kyojo emerged a brown wooden dragon similar to an aboriginal sculpture and complete with painted lines, giving it the look of a museum piece. "Next I play Speed Spell – Summon Speeder, and I Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster from my hand. Come, Army Dragon (ATK: 700, LV: 2)!" Finally, a green dragon clad in Roman-era battle armour and holding a curved sword and rounded shield, which growled as it took up a spot beside the other two.

"_Eight stars worth of monsters and a Tuner?" Jack asked. "What Dragon sub-type monster could he have that I don't know about?"_

"I tune my Level 4 Debris Dragon to my two Level 2 monsters, Minkie Dragon and Army Dragon!" Growling out, the white dragon changed into 4 green rings, two each surrounding one of the other dragons and changing them into outlines of themselves each containing 2 white orbs. These green rings then came together and formed a vertical column, the four orbs following suit and forming a vertical column of light that burst into glowing crimson flames.

"The Ruler of Hellfire shall now arise from the depths," Kyojo chanted, getting Jack's attention and intrigue. "Take witness as it scorches the souls of darkness and baptizes the earth in fire! Synchro Summon! Soul of Burning Justice, Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!"

"That's this?" Jack asked as a massive roar erupted from the flames and they exploded outwards, revealing a dragon that was very similar to his own. Though its body shape was the same, the dark red of its body was a slightly lighter red, a deep crimson, and the red lines between its facial scales and the fine details of its armour glowed bright crimson. Falling in beside its double, the two dragons faced each other and growled in a low tone, almost sounding like two male wolves vying for leadership of the pack.

"Surprise, Jack," Kyojo issued. "I've been waiting to test out this thing since I got it. And since you boosted yours, I'll do the same. Permanent Trap: Metal Conversion – Metal Reflection Armour!" As the trap appeared, it instantly changed into a beam of energy that struck and covered Kyojo's dragon, changing its skin tone to a metallic and shiny finish. "Due to this effect, Red Daemon's gains 300 ATK (ATK: 3300), and then its ATK further increases by half the ATK of its target."

"You… you planned to match my move from the very start, didn't you?" Jack realized, getting a nod from Kyojo.

"But how…?" the robot asked.

"I'm hurt that you wouldn't think I could keep up with my apprentice here," Kyojo feigned sarcastically. "Now, I activate Jack's Strike Slash Trap, so for this turn my Dragon gains 700 ATK (ATK: 4000). Furthermore, when it attacks a Defence Position monster whose DEF is less than my Dragon's ATK, Penetration Damage equal to the difference is given to the opponent. Go, my beast! Attack Marauding captain (ATK: 4600)! Blazing Crimson Hell Flare!"

"Your move won't damage us!" the robot issued. "Trap Card: Guard Block! I receive no Battle Damage, and I further draw 1 card!" A barrier then formed around the robot as it drew a card. Kyojo's Dragon then turned to face the warrior in front of it, building up glowing crimson-coloured flames in its moth until it released them in a stream and burnt up the entire warrior. Seconds later, the flames leapt off the charred pixels of the warrior and consumed the shield-bearer, causing it to explode as well.

"The effect of Re Daemon's Dragon, Daemon Meteor," Jack declared to the robot. "After it attacks a Defence Position monster, it destroys all Defence Position monsters my opponent controls."

"Next, I activate Jack's Trap Card: Pedigree of the Destruction God!" Raising his hand and snapping his fingers, Kyojo watched as the Trap Card appeared and changed into orange particles, being absorbed by his dragon. "Since a Defence Position monster was destroyed this turn, my Level Eight Red daemon's Dragon may declare a second attack during this turn. Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 4000), Direct Attack!" Bringing its head back, Kyojo's Dragon once again began to build up glowing flames in its mouth, but once again the robot had a response.

"Trap Card: Guard Block! I halve the Battle Damage from a direct attack and I draw one card!" Once again the Riding Roid pulled a card, and Kyojo's Dragon then showered it in crimson flames. The result was that the robot's D-Wheel suffered some real damage, but it managed to keep riding.

Jack & Kyojo: LP 4000

Riding Roids: LP 4000

"Damn it you're staring to irritate me," Kyojo issued through gritted teeth. After looking up to see where they were he asked "Jack, how far to the hospital?"

Looking down at his screen, Jack looked at the GPS and answered, "About ten kilometers."

"Then I guess I gotta end it now," Kyojo said, snapping his fingers. "Permanent Trap: Spell of the Ruler! I equip this card to Jack's Red Daemon's Dragon, further increasing its attack strength by 700 (ATK: 4000)!" When Jack's final card spun around, it changed into purple energy and infused into Jack's original version of the Dragon, enhancing its power. "Listen, Jack's Red Daemon's!" Yelling, Kyojo got the Dragon's attention and declared, "I understand you've served your master well. Now, do us both a favour and finish off this bucket of bolts."

Growling in reply, the dragon turned to the robot and brought back its right claw and formed a ball of flames. Pointing up to the Dragon and then to the robot, Kyojo yelled, "Absolute Power Force!" With that the Dragon roared and threw its burning fist right onto the two robots, causing a huge explosion and a huge fireball. It consumed the two Riding Roids as they were burnt to ash, while Jack and Kyojo drove straight through and kept on going with the Solid Vision turned off.

Jack & Kyojo: LP 4000

Riding Roids: TRASHED

* * *

At the layer of the three Infinity Members, Lucciano and Jose were caught off guard when Placido stood up and began to scream out in agony, sparks of electricity flying from his eye patch all across his body. Seconds after it started the engraved Infinity symbol on it began to glow green and a green aura surrounded the man, expelling the electricity and silencing the man.

"I take it something just went wrong," Lucciano stated sarcastically, getting an irritated look from the man, and making her smile sadistically.

"That's enough of your lip, my dear," Jose stated sternly before turning to Placido. "This project idea you had doesn't seem to be working. If another surge like that occurs, it could have irreparable consequences."

"I'm proceeding with my plan as normal," Placido retaliated, retraining his anger. "If it fails, then I'm more than willing to follow your plan; but for now, you follow your plan and I'll follow mine."

"Such stubborn impatience," Jose sighed, turning away and looking back at the view below.

"It's better than your fruitless procrastination, old man," Placido stated, stepping across the white matter of the Sky Temple to the wall, where he threw his right fist into it and punched a deep crater into the stone.

* * *

"That was an awesome Tag Ride, huh Jack?" Kyojo asked, giving jack the thumb's up and laughing in joy.

"Indeed; it was one of my favourite duels so far," Jack answered. "But I must ask… where did you get that Dragon?"

"What, this one?" Kyojo asked, holding up his copy of the Red Daemon's Dragon. When Jack nodded he stated, "It's simple really; I was the Summoner who brought the soul of Red Daemon's Dragon back into this world."

"That's right," Jack remembered. "It was the Summoners who resurrected the souls of the Five Dragons and unleashed their card incarnations."

"Very true. And after that, the Summoners each received a new copy of the Dragon they released, this one made from the power and the soul of the Crimson Dragon. They're as real as yours, both as cards and creatures."

"Then that's a powerful weapon there," Jack marveled.

"It's our job to aid the Signers and to step up when they cannot. We must be properly armed for that task."

"It makes sense." Looking up, the two men then saw that they were right at the hospital, so they hit the brakes and spun their D-Wheels into parking spaces and killed the motors. Stepping down, Jack hoisted Carly over his shoulder and they ran in the doors towards the emergency room.

* * *

"Any word from Jack yet?" Lua asked Aki back at the hideout, Taiyou, Johan and Luca in the background discussing the Duel Spirits World.

"Nothing yet, but…" Aki was interrupted when her cell vibrated, so she grabbed it and saw that she had a text. Looking at it, she saw that Kyojo had sent her the message: "Took Carly to Hospital. Warehouse ambush. Explosion. Fake Judai still on the loose." As she read this message the other three figures came up behind her, reading the message as well.

"Fake Judai?" Taiyou asked. "What is he talking about?"

"That message that Jack got from Judai after he left," Aki explained, "it was from an imposter."

"Say what?" Lua asked as Yusuriha reentered the room. As she approached everybody turned to look at her and Lua said, "Do you know anything about this?"

"I'm not involved in this," she stated. "Yliaster has no plan involving body doubles of people, let alone ambush missions."

"What do you know about Placido?" Luca asked.

"Not much. He succeeded a man named Jose as the president of Yliaster before Godwin became the Leader of it, and he stepped aside for Godwin's reign. Little is known about who he is or what history he has. The same goes for Jose. In addition, there's a woman who spends a lot of time around those two, by the name of Lucciano, who has a similarly empty file."

"That doesn't make sense," Taiyou thought aloud. "Yliaster doesn't employ people that they cannot research, let alone allow them to become presidents. How did this occur?"

"Placido is a charismatic man before them. Cunning, coercive, visionary…"

"Sounds like Hitler," Aki stated.

"He's not genocidal, nor are Jose or Lucciano, but he has some extreme views."

"And that's as far as I can allow you to go," a voice issued from behind them. Turning around, they saw that on the stage there was a man dressed in a similar white robe to Yusuriha. "I can't allow you to leak any more information, traitor."

"Traitor… What do you mean?"

"You dare to inform the Signers of or master Placido, spread lies about his connection to Godwin…"

"Yusu-chan, who is this guy?" Taiyou asked, looking up at the man in disdain.

"I…I don't know," Yusuriha stated in shock. "This isn't any Yliaster member I know…"

"My name is not important to you, spirit, traitor," the man stated, pulling out a white Neo Domino Duel Disc and activating it. "You resign if I win."

"Fat chance," the woman stated, pulling out her Duel Disc. On it were 4 blades in an X-shaped pattern which, when strapped on, folded together and lowered down only to the underside of the main body and further folding into the deformed T-shaped tray.

"Don't do this," Johan warned. "This guy's not worth it."

"Obviously he knows something," Yusuriha stated sternly. Turning smug she added, "Besides, I'm not losing."

"Then prove it…" the man stated as he and Yusuriha pulled 5 cards each.

"I've got nothing to prove to you."

"We'll see…" With that both players yelled,

"DUEL!"

Yusuriha: LP 4000

Enemy: LP 4000

"I'll take the first turn," the man stated. "Draw! I set 3 cards." Taking three cards from his hand one by one, he placed them on the tray and they all took form. "I end my turn."

"What's this?" Lua questioned. "No monsters in the first turn?"

"He's up to something suspicious," Johan stated.

Taiyou nodded. "But what?"

"Good question."

"_This guy somehow knows what I said to the Signers earlier. But there's no way somebody snuck into this place... he's somehow gotten some surveillance and snuck in another way."_

"It's my turn," Yusuriha declared. "Draw! Magic Activate: Angel's Gift!" Showing her card, she pulled three new cards from her Deck and smiled before inserting two cards already in her hand into the Cemetery slot. "Next I summon XX-Saber Gardestrike (ATK: 2100, LV: 5)!" Slapping a card down onto the tray, she called up a brown-haired anthropomorphized wolverine in armour and a red cape that had a curved blade along his right arm.

"A Level Five monster on the first turn?" the stranger asked. "Explain yourself."

"If there are no monsters on my field and a least 2 X-Saber Monsters in my Cemetery," Yusuriha explained, "then I may Special Summon Gardestrike from my hand. When I played Angel's Gift, I discarded X-Saber Palomlo and XX-Saber Fulhelmknight. Furthermore, I summon Warrior Lady of Revenge – Rose (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)." Right beside the existing Beast-Warrior emerged a blue-outfitted female warrior with red hair in a ponytail, red irises and a katana which she wielded with one hand.

"A Tuner monster?" Aki realized.

"She isn't wasting any time," Taiyou stated. "This is fast even for her."

"I tune my Level 4 Warrior Lady – Rose to my Level 5 Gardestrike!" Slashing her sword, the warrior lady created 4 white orbs that became green rings before she disappeared. These ring surrounded the furry warrior, changing it into an outline with 5 vertically-aligned white orbs, creating a column of light.

"Master of War and Arms of the Heavens," Yusuriha chanted, "rise up in this battle and take up arms against our foe! Let slip the dogs of Roar! Synchro Summon! God of the Sword, XX-Saber Gatmuz (ATK: 3100, LV: 9)!" The light then dispersed, releasing a gigantic monster clad in silver armour and a red cape and wielding a two-bladed sword. The monster then let out a loud battle cry, showing its readiness for war.

"That's a pretty early move for her," Taiyou observed. "Usually she waits a few turns before she summons that monster."

"She's rushing into battle to deal damage and win quickly," Johan easily deduced. "But showing that much aggression too soon can have dire consequences."

"I applaud you on your ability to summon such a powerful monster so soon," the Yliaster member stated, a trace of feigned respect in his voice. "But by doing so, you've opened the door to your own defeat." Snapping his fingers, the middle of the three cards in front of him flipped over, revealing a Trap Card that made Yusuriha gasp and the others look on in detest.

"Permanent Trap: Conspiracy of the Piano Tuner. When my opponent Special Summons a Synchro Monster, I take control of that monster." AS soon as the statement was done, purple electricity shot out from the card right at the gigantic armoured warrior, making it growl out in pain before it shattered. Seconds later, a purple column of energy appeared behind the figure, and from the ground arose the monster once again with its eyes glowing violet.

"He's taken her strongest monster," Johan stated. "What can she do now?"

"I don't know," Taiyou replied, growing grave. "This has never happened before."

"Hang in there, Yusu-chan!" Lua yelled, trying to encourage the girl.

"I'm far from beaten yet," she affirmed. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Is that all?" the man asked, amused at his opponent's situation. "Then it's my turn. I Draw. I summon Synchro Eater (ATK: 1400, LV: 4)." A blue vortex formed on the man's left side, forming a large orb-shaped monster resembling a gigantic mouth with several snake-like necks and smaller one-eyed heads and mouths on them.

"An Anti-Synchro Deck," Aki whispered under her breath. "I wasn't sure before, but now there's no doubt."

"Your fate is sealed!" the figure stated. "Synchro Eater, Direct Attack the player!" Pointing his finger at Yusuriha, he laughed as his monster released a blast of pitch-black smoke at the girl, wrapping it around her while it slowly drained the Life Points from the attack.

Yusuriha: LP 2600

Enemy: LP 4000

"Yusuriha!" Taiyou yelled, the girl cringing while he looked on in dismay.

"Hang in there!" Johan added.

"Don't back down!" Aki finally stated.

"The end is now!" the figure added. "XX-Saber Gatmuz, Direct Attack the player!" Growling in a war-ready manner, the monster swung its sword right at the girl before it, who looked on with a steely gaze right before the blade connected. AS it swung through her, the sword struck the ground and created an explosion, kicking up smoke that encompassed the girl.

"No!" Luca yelled as the Yliaster member began to laugh maniacally.

"Yusuriha!" Aki also shouted.

* * *

"Are we sure this is the best course of action?" Jose asked of Placido within their throne room. "You experiment with controlling the Riding Roids caused you harm; what happens when this "X", as you call it, is destroyed.

"It won't be," was Placido's explanation. "It's indestructible because it can deconstruct and reconstruct at will."

"And its ability to copy cards it much faster than what we can do," Lucciano pointed out. "It seems so far to be a valuable asset."

"Why are you having it confront Judai so soon? Are you not concerned it may be defeated too early?"

"That's immaterial. As soon as it finishes with Yusuriha, it will have another Deck duplicated in addition to Jack's."

"If you insist," Jose grumbled. "But I foresee this going horribly wrong."

"Duely noted."

**Card of the Week – Jack & Kyojo**

**Red Daemon's Dragon**

**Type:** DARK

**Level:** 8

**Sub-Type(s):** [Dragon/Synchro/Effect]

**Effect:** Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters

If this card attack a Defence Position Monster, destroy all Defence Position Monsters your opponent controls after Damage Calculation. During the End Phase, if there are any monsters you control that did not attack, destroy them.

**ATK/** 3000

**DEF/** 2000

* Lot of cliffhangers this chapter. Review if you wish.*


	6. Seal the Synchro Summon!

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 6 – Seal the Synchro Summon! Yusuriha vs. Anti-Synchro Deck **

"The end is now!" the Yliaster member declared with a malicious sneer. "XX-Saber Gatmuz, Direct Attack the player!" Growling in a war-ready manner, the monster swung its sword right at Yusuriha standing opposite him, who looked on with a steely gaze right before the blade connected. As it swung through her, the sword struck the ground and created an explosion, kicking up smoke that encompassed the girl.

"No!" Luca yelled as the Yliaster member began to laugh maniacally.

"Yusuriha!" Aki also shouted, seemingly stressed by the encounter. Her anxieties lifted, however, when the image of the girl was seen through the smoke with Life Points still to her name.

"What's this?" the man asked, his sneer changing to a growling look of anger. "What did you do?"

"I activated my Trap Card," the girl answered, pointing to a face-up card beside her and making the man snarl bitterly. "When I receive a direct attack from a monster with 2000 attack strength or more, I can activate the Normal Trap Card Fall on thy Sword. Due to this effect, I decrease the battle damage by half."

Yusuriha: LP 1050

Enemy: LP 4000

"And next, I draw 2 cards," Yusuriha added, pulling her two new cards and looking at them quickly.

"You've escaped destruction this time," the man said bitterly, pulling a card from his hand and inserting it into the Magic & Trap Card Slots of his Duel Disc. "But you will not succeed the next time. Death cannot be cheated twice. I end my turn."

"I don't intend to cheat death again," Yusuriha explained with a confident grin. "It is through the power of life that I'll transcend and rise above. Draw! Come, Marauding Captain (ATK: 1200, LV: 3)!" Slapping a card onto her Duel Disc, Yusuriha conjured an armoured blond tanned warrior holding two different swords and sporting a tattered cape. "When this monster is Successfully Summoned, I may Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster from my hand. Come, X-Saber Passiul (ATK: 100, LV: 2)!"

Right beside the two-sworded warrior emerged a large warrior with blue armour including a bionic eye, long black hair and a massive sword, which grunted as it took form before Yusuriha.

"A nice attempt at a Synchro Summon again," the man stated. "But it's all for naught. Permanent Trap: Discord. This card remains face-up for 3 of my turns, and during that time neither player can Synchro Summon."

"What?" she asked in reply, clearly caught off-guard by the inability to Synchro Summon.

"I knew you'd try to Synchro Summon X-Saber Wayne and Special Summon a monster that could deal with my forces using its effect," the man explained. "But I cannot let that happen."

"Then I'll just have to resort to plan B," Yusuriha confirmed, holding up a card. "Magic Activate: Saber Slash! For each face-up Attack Position X-Saber monster I control, I destroy a face-up card. My selection is Conspiracy of the Piano Tuner!" The Yliaster member had time to gasp before the bulky blue warrior leapt up into the air and swung its sword down through the Trap, shattering it. Immediately following that the gigantic armoured warrior warped off his field and returned to Yusuriha's, its eyes becoming red again.

"A clever ploy, but it's still not enough," the cloaked man stated. "Even if it can beat Synchro Eater normally, Synchro Eater makes the ATK of a Synchro Monster it battles 0 until the End Phase."

"I know that already," the woman countered. "I change Gatmuz to Defence Position (DEF: 2600, LV: 9)." Turning the card horizontal, the gigantic warrior put its sword at its waist and took up a crouch as it turned blue. "Next, I release Passiul according to its effect, and I discard a random card from your hand!" Pulling its word back out, the gigantic warrior pointed it at the man as the blue warrior dissolved. An electric charge formed between the blades and shot at his hand, shattering the card it hit and making it appear in the Cemetery Slot (where it was revealed as Synchro Control).

"Meddling bitch!" the man yelled, the gang looking on at Yusuriha confidently as the girl smiled.

"Say what you will. I set 1 card and end my turn."

"Draw!" the man yelled. "I Summon Synchro Breaker (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)!" Pulling the card from his hand and holding it up, the man called forth a dark blue-armoured warrior with a glowing sword and an amulet resembling a green Synchro Ring. "Attack Marauding Captain!" Rising up, the warrior jumped down upon the warrior and shattered it. "Next, due to the effect of Synchro Breaker, you must send 1 random Synchro Monster to the Cemetery."

Growling in contempt, Yusuriha pulled out her Extra Deck and shuffled it, pulling a card and placing it in the Cemetery after showing it to the man. "XX-Saber Hyunlay is it?" he asked in amusement. "With that card you could have fielded out my moves, but now that's all over. Permanent Magic: The Dark Door! Both players can only attack with one monster per turn."

"One attack per turn?" Taiyou asked. "He's hindering himself?"

"I doubt that's the real goal," Johan interpreted.

"Don't give up Yusu-chan!" Lua shouted. "You can win this!"

"That I'd like to see," the man scoffed. "I end my turn."

"Then it's my turn," Yusuriha stated, bringing her hand to her Duel Disc and closing her eyes. _"A single card can make this work, but I have to draw the right card. My cover depends upon it."_ "Draw!" Extending her arm all the way out, she glanced at the card and smiled, reassuring the others but confusing the figure.

"Well… what is your card?"

"You'll see," she stated. "I activate Trap Stun!" Snapping her fingers by palming her card, she revealed a Trap Card that made the man look on in shock. "Then I chain Gatmuz' Urgent Orders! When a face-up X-Saber Monster exists on the field, I Special Summon 2 X-Saber Monsters from either Cemetery. Return: XX-Saber Gardestrike (ATK: 2100, LV: 5)! X-Saber Palomlo (DEF: 300, LV: 1)!"

On either side of the gigantic monster behind Yusuriha appeared a monster; on its left an armoured lizard-warrior with a trident-like sword, the other the wolverine-warrior with the saw-like blade on its arm. "Next, Trap Stun negates the effects of all Trap Cards for this turn!" Lightning shot out of the remaining card, striking the cards on the opponent's field and turning them all to stone.

"What have you done?" the man yelled.

"I've ensured my victory!" With that Yusuriha held up a monster to the opposing player and added, "Because I control 3 X-Saber monsters, I Special Summon XX-Saber Faultrol (ATK: 2400, LV: 6)!" Slapping the card onto the tray, she called forth a red-armoured warrior whose forearms were mechanical; it had a huge glowing sword, a red cape and a visor, and it grunted to show its readiness for battle. "Next, due to its effect, I Special Summon XX-Saber Fulhelmknight (ATK: 1300, LV: 3)!"

Swinging his sword, the red-clad warrior created a blue vortex that released an orange and brown-armoured young female warrior with long blond hair and a segmented whip-like device composed of metal links. "Your Tuner monster does you no good Summoner," the man grunted. "You can still only attack once!"

"I know," she issued, "But I intend to make it count! Equip Magic: Power of Unity! I equip this card to Faultrol, increasing his ATK by 800 for each face-up monster I control. Right now there are 5 (ATK: 6400)!"

"No way!" the robed figure blurted, completely taken aback by what he had just heard.

"Awesome job Yusu-chan!" Lua said, raising a fist into the air as the others looked on confidently.

"Go, Faultrol, attack Synchro Eater!" Raising his sword, the warrior created a huge aura around himself and jumped up into the air, pulling the sword into its backswing. But at that moment, surprising everyone, one of the set cards which had turned to stone cracked up and shattered to reveal itself.

"You almost had me there," he admitted. "But I'm afraid you've come up short. Your Trap Stun stopped my Traps and gave you an escape route, but I still have one card I can play. Instant Magic: Shrink! I halve the original ATK of Faultrol (ATK: 5200)!" Falling down upon the demonic multi-headed creature, the blade of the warrior swung straight through both it and the figure, significantly decreasing his Life Points but not wiping him out.

Yusuriha: LP 1050

Enemy: LP 200

"Very impressive attack traitor," the man chided. "But I still stand."

"I must hand it to you as well," Yusuriha replied unhappily. "I end my turn."

"Then the effects of Trap Stun and Shrink now wear off (ATK: 6400)." With that, all three frozen cards cracked up and broke out of their casings, leaving two face-up cards and one set one.

"Damn," Johan said, his tone giving away his frustration with what was going on. "She had him."

"She still does," Taiyou reassured, Johan still looking grave despite his confidence. "She always gets her man."

"I hope you're right."

"Draw," the Yliaster figure declared, pulling his card. "I switch Synchro Breaker to Defence Position (DEF: 1000)." Pointing the card-holding hand at the monster, the figure's request was fulfilled as the monster took up a crouching position and turned blue. "Next I activate a Permanent Magic: Synchro Burden. During each player's End Phase, both players take 500 points of damage for each Synchro Monster they control."

"What?" Yusuriha asked, clearly surprised.

"You have 3 turns to live. End Phase, the effect of Synchro Burden activates!" From below Yusuriha exploded a vertical surge of energy, blasting her and making her cringe and brace herself while her opponent looked on in amusement.

Yusuriha: LP 550

Enemy: LP 200

"This is bad," Aki realized. "She can't attack enough times to wipe out his Life Points before she takes lethal damage."

"I still think she'll come through," Taiyou reassured.

"Let's hope so," Luca chided in.

"Draw!" Yusuriha declared. Looking at her card quickly, she spun it around and said, "Magic Activate: Live by the Sword! I draw one card for each face-up X-Saber monster I control!" Reaching for her Deck, she then drew 5 cards in quick succession and looked at them in a fan, smiling confidently when she saw them. "Ready?"

"Bring it!"

"Magic Activate: Magical Shard Excavation! I discard 2 cards from my hand to return 1 Magic Card from my Cemetery to my hand. I discard X-Sabers Anapelera and Galahad." Showing the two cards, she put them into her Cemetery and held up her Duel Disc. "And now, I add Saber Slash from my Cemetery to my hand."

"What? No!" the man yelled defiantly, getting only a sneer in return as the card slid oit and into her hand.

"I'm afraid so. I release X-Saber Palomlo to Advance Summon Allsword Commander Gatmuz (ATK: 2100, LV: 6)!" The green reptilian figure then changed into a neon orb and released a silver-armoured warrior with a broadsword and a red cape, whose helmet covered his face and who grunted strongly. "Now, all Saber monsters gain 400 ATK (ATK: 1700) (ATK: 6800) (ATK: 2500) (ATK: 3500)."

"Why did she just decrease the number of X-Sabers she controlled?" Lua asked.

"Saber Slash must destroy exactly how many monsters are controlled," Johan responded. "He only has 3 face-up cards, so she needed to decrease her counts to cause herself less damage."

"Magic Activate: Saber Slash! I destroy Synchro Breaker, Synchro Burden, Discord and XX-Saber Fulhelmknight!" All four of the marked warriors jumped up into the air, swords and whip drawn, to take swings at face-up cards. The gigantic two-bladed warrior vut through the Yliaster member's Spell Card, the red warrior through his Spell Card, and the female warrior's whip struck and shattered the warrior. Seconds later, the blade-arm of the wolverine warrior cut through the female monster.

"You destroyed your own monster?" the man asked in disbelief.

"Not for long," Yusuriha mentioned. "Faultrol's effect! Return Fulhelmknight (ATK: 1700, LV: 3)!" Once again the red warrior raised his sword and warped forth the female warrior, her whip ready for battle. "Magic Activate: Avarice Pot! I return Passiul, Palomlo, Rose, Marauding Captain and Galahad!" From her Cemetery 5 cards slid out and she put them into the Deck, where they automatically shuffled in and she pulled 2 new cards.

"Perfect Circle," Aki realized. "She can continuously reuse her cards. Amazing."

"Now, I equip Legacy of the Saber to Allsword Commander Gatmuz! By equipping this card, he gains 1000 ATK, plus 200 for each X-Saber I control. Finally, it becomes an X-Saber Monster!"

"It what?" The warrior was consumed by a red aura as its sword developed a huge black "X" on it, and it raised its sword to rally the others.

"That's an additional 2400 ATK (ATK: 4500)! And finally, to complete the move, Cyclone!" Holding up the card, the whirlwind generated shot forward and struck the man's card, revealed as Holy Barrier – Mirror Force, and shattered it instantly.

"This…can't be!"

"But it is!" Yusuriha mentioned. "The finishing blow! Gatmuz, direct attack the player!" Jumping forward, the monster swung its sword straight through the figure with a mighty roar. The result was that the figure yelled out mechanically before his entire form dissolved into black and red static and his cries disappeared; but moments later the laughing voice of Judai, complete with a mechanical undertone, rang out.

"Congratulations girl," the voice declared, the static taking the form of Judai's face, to the surprise and chagrin of everyone. "You managed to escape the anti-Synchro Trap with your combos… but will you fare so well against our true forces?"

"You!" Johan yelled. "Stop impersonating our friend!"

"Do not think I have forgotten you Johan," he said. "You all will soon become servants of Yliaster." With that the face began to laugh psychotically, and the he faded out.

"What the hell is going on?" Taiyou asked, Yusuriha looking at him as she reset her Duel Disc.

"I don't know…" All of a sudden, everyone was interrupted by a text message to their cell phones, which they picked up and opened. It was a bulletin from the Public Security Maintenance Bureau that read that effective immediately all D-Wheels were forbidden on public roads due to serious crashes and damage to the lanes.

"What the hell…"

"Damage my ass," Taiyou blurted. "They're trying to pin us down. But, we won't be caged."

* * *

Outside of Neo Domino, right next to the mouth of the Daedalus Bridge, two Security Officers were posted to monitor all traffic to and from Satellite by any sort of vehicle. Their D-Wheels, set up with a GPS receiver, showed no signs of any D-Wheels on the roads, suggesting that the bulletin had been received by all and followed… that is, until a blip on the screen suddenly appeared to show it on the other side of the Bridge.

"What's this…?" One of the two asked the other, getting only a low hum of non-knowledge as a reply. Looking at the screen, they saw the blip move from the other side of the bridge all the way up to the centre in two seconds. "What the hell…?"

"This thing must be wrong," his partner said. "No D-Wheel goes that fast…" Two seconds later, he was proven wrong when a huge burst of air shot by in between the two officers and warped to reveal a long purple teardrop-shaped D-Wheel with a small front wheel at the apex and a huge rear wheel at the very back. The rider, dressed in a blue riding suit and with a red visor, got the attention of the two officers and they gave pursuit.

"Stop!" The first officer yelled. "You're in violation of bylaw 256 of Neo Domino's Public Security Maintenance Bureau?"

"Am I know?" a low voice issued over the speaker system. "Well then, perhaps you officers would like a good civil duel. Win and I go quietly; lose and I go free."

"We don't negotiate with unknown suspects," the second and older-sounding officer stated.

"Then call me Dark Glass," the blue-clad rider said. "So, ready to duel?"

"You're on!" the two officers yelled as they pushed buttons on the console, making the card Speed World Two appear on the monitors and the Duel Mode activate. At the unknown D-Wheeler's console emerged a Duel Tray, and a Wrist Dealer appeared on his right arm as the field became a purple aura. "Riding Duel Acceleration!"

"If it's two on one, then this guy deserves a bonus for it," the second officer said to his partner.

"Yeah, he's right," the first officer directed at Dark Glass. "What do you want? 8000 Life Points, Double Turns, 10 card hand?"

"I don't need any of those to defeat you officers," Dark Glass retorted, sounding offended at the implication. "Just make your moves."

Dark Glass: LP 4000

Officers: LP 4000

"I'll go first," the first officer declared. "I Summon Guard Blocker (DEF: 2000, LV: 4)." Between the two officers emerged a large blue-tinted stone slab with a single eye at its centre. "Next, I send this monster to the Cemetery to Special Summon gate Blocker 2 (DEF: 3000, LV: 6)!" The eye of the stone slab then changed into a neon orb as the rest of it disappeared, releasing a larger stone slab with two vertical eyes at its centre.

"I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Then I Draw!" the second officer said, pulling his card. "Due to the effect of Gate Blocker 2, you don't gain any SPC at your Standby Phase (Dark Glass: 0 SPC/Officers: 1 SPC). I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Is that all?" Dark Glass asked smugly. "I expected more from Neo Domino's finest. Draw (Dark Glass: 0 SPC/Officers: 2 SPC)!" Looking at his card, he declared, "When my opponent controls a monster and a Magic or Trap Card and I control no cards, from my hand I may Special Summon Tech Genus – Powered Wyvern DR-05 (ATK: 2000, LV: 5)!" lapping his card down with the left hand, Dark Glass called forth a large white wyvern with two large mechanical wings, several wires in its flesh and a visor.

"A Level 5 monster?" the second officer asked.

"Next, by decreasing the Level of Powered Wyvern by 2 (LV: 3), I Special Summon Tech Genus – Blast Lizard RE-03 (ATK: 500, LV: 3) as per its own effect!" Opening its mouth, the wyvern shot a blast of flame that released an anthropomorphized lizard-warrior with mechanical limbs and bionic eyes.

"Two monsters?"

"I Tune my now Level 3 Powered Wyvern to my Level 3 Blast Lizard!" Roaring loudly, the wyvern blasted out another shot of flame and disappeared; the flames released 3 white orbs that became green rings and surrounded the lizard-warrior. The monster then became an outline of itself and released three white orbs, which then formed a column of light.

"Synchro Summon! Come forth, Tech Genus – Sonic Dragon DRX-1000 (ATK: 2600, LV: 6)!" From the white light emerged a large light blue-armoured dragon with 4 metal wings and plasma-charged talons, which screeched at a high frequency that made the officers cringe. "Next, because I Successfully Synchro Summoned, I Special Summon Tech Genus – Portal Dragon DR-01 from my hand (ATK: 400, LV: 1)!"

Slapping a third card down on the tray, he called forth a metal serpentine dragon with long whiskers and a mane, which growled lightly. "Next, I activate this monster's effect: Once in one turn, I may Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Tech Genus Monster from my hand. Come, Tech Genus – Warp Phoenix WB-04 (ATK: 1700, LV: 4)!" As Dark Glass slapped yet another card onto the tray, his new dragon curled its body into a ring and formed a blue vortex inside, spawning a red metal-winged and taloned bird with a long tail.

"Another Synchro Summon in his first turn?" the first officer asked. "Who is this guy?"

"You are correct; I tune my Level 1 Portal Dragon to my Level 4 Warp Phoenix!" With the body of the dragon still curled up into a circle, the phoenix flew straight through the loop and become a yellow outline of itself, with the dragon changing into a green ring after the bird flew away. The ring then came forward and stopped at the waist of the monster, making it change into 4 white orbs and then a column of light.

"Synchro Summon! Appear now, Tech Genus – Powered Phoenix WB-05 (ATK: 2100, LV: 5)!" From the light emerged a four-winged crane-like bird with four metal wings, a metal tail and plasma-charged beak and talons, which made a haunting cry as it escaped its light. "Next, by the effect of Powered Phoenix, all Tech Genus monsters I control gain 500 ATK (ATK: 3100) (ATK: 2600)!"

"His monster is stronger than our Gate Blocker 2!" the second police officer warned. "This isn't gonna be pretty." As he said this, the D-Wheels of Jack and Kyojo pulled up a few metres back of the duel as they watched in anticipation of the events. Having just left Carly in intensive care, where she was getting treatment, they had caught sight of the duel and had come to watch.

"Due to the effect of Warp Phoenix," Dark Glass explained, "When it is used to Synchro Summon a Tech Genus Monster and sent to the Cemetery, I draw 1 card." Pulling a new card and placing it in his hand and declared, "I attack Gate Blocker 2 with Sonic Dragon! Sonic Flash!" Roaring at ultrasonic frequency, the dragon curled up its wings and stooped towards the massive wall, changing into a current of air as it did so and piercing straight through the structure.

The monster made it about a kilometer ahead of the duelists through this, and when it changed back to normal it lagged back to return to its master's side. "When Tech Genus – Sonic Dragon destroys a monster by battle, it can attack once again in a row. Go, Sonic Dragon!" Roaring again, the monster changed back into a burst of wind and shot between the two officers, making them both jolt outwards as their Life Points fell and they began to lose traction.

Dark Glass: LP 4000

Officers: LP 900

"This isn't good!" The younger officer yelled.

"Go, Powered Phoenix! Direct attack!" Screeching, the bird spread its wings and shot a burst of flames from its mouth to cover the officers, causing their D-Wheels to explode and the officers to go flying over the edges of the Duel Lane. The two men screamed as they fell into the bay below, and Jack and Kyojo punched their accelerators to get parallel with Dark Glass.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jack asked. "Public Security has some ridiculous policies, but they're not worth killing them for?"

"Who are you?" Kyojo barked in command.

"I have no quarrel with you, Kings," Dark Glass callously said. "But if it is answers you seek, go to the Bootleg and talk to Syd. He will have information for you about what is going on?"

"What's stopping you from telling us?" Kyojo barked, pulling out in front of Dark Glass's D-Wheel while Jack pulled to the side of it, boxing him there.

"We want answers!" Jack bellowed.

"Then go get them," was all Dark Glass said before he revved his engine and pulled up onto the glass edge of the track. Jack and Kyojo could only watch as he accelerated and shot upside-down into the air, and when gravity took over he shot straight down to parts unknown.

"What the hell is going on here?" Kyojo asked, turning to Jack.

"I have no idea… but once we get Judai, we're going to talk to Syd."

"Right!" Kyojo said with a nod.

* * *

"Kisama!" Judai snapped at his imposter standing before him, sneering. "What do you want here?" Instead of answering, the doppelganger simply chuckled darkly and closed his eyes, irritating Judai. "Answer me! Who are you?"

"I'm what you would have been," the distorted voice issued from the fake Judai, "had you sided with the right group. You chose the Signers over Yliaster, and as such you're leading this world down a path towards destruction."

"What the fuck are you taking about?" Crow asked in anger. "We protected the world from the Dark Signers. How does that make us evil?!"

"Because you oppose the new world order," Judai's doppelganger stated. "The Infinity seeks to erase that which is wrong with this world; but you wish to continue this decayed society and everything that is wrong with it. Therefore, you must be eliminated." Raising its left arm, the fake Judai materialized the red-trimmed Duel Disc and activated it, the Infinity Symbol forming on the dome and a green one forming a barrier trappig him and the real Judai.

"If you want to duel, then so be it!" Judai decalred, pulling up his Duel Disca snd activating it. He then took out his Deck and gave it a quick shuffle before putting in into the Deck Zone.

"Judai!" Yusei yelled, getting the man's attention. "Take this!" With that Yusei tossed a card to Judai in a way that made it land between his thumb and index finger. Looking at it quickly, Judai nodded and slipped it into his Deck, the auto-shuffler kicking in and mixing up the Deck.

"Add in any card you wish," Judai's double taunted. "You'll never win. I've mastered your cards and your moves. You're time is up, Yuki Judai!"

"We'll see!" Judai declared, his eyes changing to Yubel's orange eye and green eye as both players pulled 5 cards and yelled,

"DUEL!"

Judai: LP 4000

Enemy: LP 4000

"I'll go first," Judai declared. "Draw!" pulling his card, Judai took a card from his hand and put it in the tray. "I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in Defence Position (DEF: 2000, LV: 4)!" Before Judai emerged his large bulky dark grey stone warrior with a red head and a geometric body, which took up a crouching position and turned blue. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Is that the bets you can do?" the fake Judai asked, sneering. "I expected more. It's my turn. Draw!" Pulling his card, he instantly flipped it around and declared, "I activate Convert Contact! Since I control no monsters, I send 1 Neo-Spacian Monster from my hand and 1 from my Deck to the Cemetery, and I draw 2 cards." Pulling another card from his hand, he held it between his fingers while he fanned through his Deck and picked out another card.

"I send N-Glow Moss from my hand and N-Aqua Dolphin from my Deck to the Cemetery." Showing the two cards, he put them and the card from his play into the Cemetery and put his Deck back, where it changed into black static before reforming. Pulling 2 cards, he then pulled another one from his hand and spun all three around. "Fusion Activate! I fuse Featherman and Burst Lady to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero… Flame Wingman (ATK: 2100, LV: 6)!"

Behind Judai's double emerged a mostly green warrior with white-feathered wings, taloned feet and a claw attached to his right hand, as well as a pale red spandex-clad female warrior with a gold helmet over black and white hair. The two monsters then spiraled together, forming a green and black monster with a red right arm ending in a dragon's head, a two-fluked tail, pointy ears and a single white wing on its left side

"This is bad," Crow realized, Yusei nodding in agreement. "Judai's signature opener is about to be used against him."

"Next I summon E-HERO Wildman (ATK: 1500, LV: 4)!" Slapping another card down on the tray, he called forth a brown-skinned warrior with a long ponytail, body paint, a loincloth and a huge sword on his back, which he quickly drew. "I attack Clayman with Flame Wingman! Flame Shoot!" Jumping up in the air, the green monster growled right before blasting flames out its dragon mouth, showering the rock warrior and then Judai. The man screamed out in pain while his double laughed psychotically.

"Judai! Hang in there!" Yusei yelled as the flames went out and Judai's form hung slack where it stood, before Judai simply fell on his knees.

"As you well know," Judai's double pointed out with crossed arms, "The opposing player receives damage equal to the ATK of the monster destroyed in battle by Flame Wingman."

"Yes, that's true," Judai stated, "but I'm also using an effect at this time. Trap Card Open: Hero Signal. Because Clayman was destroyed by battle, I Special Summon E-HERO Sparkman from my Deck (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)!" With a surge of blue electricity, a navy warrior covered in pieces of gold armour and wearing a visor emerged before Judai, looking over at its counterparts and making the fake Judai cringe.

Judai: LP 3200

Enemy: LP 4000

"Wildman has less ATK than Spoarkman does," the fake Judai stated matter-of-factly. "If I attack, I'll only take recoil damage and lose my monster, so I'll end my Battle Phase here. Main Phase 2, I set 1 card and end my turn."

"Not so fast!" Judai yelled. "Trap Card Open: Hero Tag! During the Opponent's End Phase, I may return 1 E-HERO monster from my field to my hand to Special Summon 1 E-HERO with the same Level from my Deck. Come, Bubbleman (ATK: 800, LV: 4)!" With a storm of bubbles, Judai's navy and gold warrior vanished and a blue armoured warrior with bubble shooter and water tanks appeared before him, and Judai quickly pulled 2 cards due it its effect.

"Very clever," the fake Judai stated, "but that card lets me draw 1 card as well." Pulling his card, he narrowed his eyes and said with a malice grin, "Kisama no turn."

"I'll show you the true power of the E-HERO Deck!" Judai yelled. "It's my turn! Draw!" Looking at his new card, he quickly placed it elsewhere in his hand and pulled out one of the cards he had drawn. "Instant Magic: Bubble Shuffle! I change Bubbleman and Flame Wingman to Defence Position (DEF: 1200) (DEF: 1200)." Both monsters responded by taking up a kneeling position and turning blue, their arms crossed over their bodies and the larger monster's wing folded over itself.

"Next, I release Bubbleman and Special Summon… E-HERO Edgeman (ATK: 2600, LV: 7)!" The blue warrior before Judai then disappeared in a cloud of particles to be replaced by the larger gold-armoured warrior with blades on his body, who quickly bellowed to show his readiness for battle. As the fake Judai looked on disdainfully, the regular Judai added, "Next I summon Sparkman (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)."

With the navy and gold warrior once again appearing before him, Judai instructed, "Go, Edgeman! Attack Flame Wingman, and inflict Penetration Damage!" Extending its blades and wings, the warrior leapt forward and cut straight through the blue winged warrior, making it explode and the shockwave causing parts of the fake's body to temporarily return to their static state.

"Now, Sparkman, attack Wildman! Spark Flash!" Grunting, the navy warrior shot a pulse of electricity at the tanned warrior, causing him to explode and the fake Judai to further take damage.

Judai: LP 3200

Enemy: LP 2500

"Trap Card: Hero Signal! Come forth, Bubbleman (ATK: 800, LV: 4)!" With the card flipped over, Judai's blue warrior from the turn before appeared beside the fake Judai. "Due to its effect, I draw 2 cards!"

"Then so be it," Judai stated. "I set 3 cards and end my turn."

"Draw!" the fake Judai stated, sneering darkly and taking a card bfrom his hand to place on the tray. "Permanent Magic: Suffering of the Strong! All face-up monsters my opponent controls lose 100 ATK times their own Level. That's 700 points for Edgeman (ATK: 1900) and 400 for Sparkman (ATK: 1200)."

"Damn it," Crow grunted. "Judai can't semm to hold his edge!"

"If this keeps up," Yusei stated, "things will only get worse and worse for us all."

"Magic Activate: Fusion Recovery!" Judai's doppelganger stated, his Cemetery glowing. "From my Cemetery I return Fusion and Featherman to my hand!" When the two cards slid back out, the fake Judai held them and a third from his hand up and said, "Through Fusion, I combine Featherman, Sparkman and Bubbleman. Appear now, Tempester (ATK: 2800, LV: 8)!"

The green feathered warrior, the blue warrior and another gold and navy warrior jumped up into the air and melded together in a spiraling action, producing a mostly-blue warrior complete with a visor that covered his eyes, three-taloned bird-like feet, a cannon instead of a right hand, and a pair of green and white hang glider-like wings.

"Judai!" Yusei yelled.

"Equip Magic: Elemental Sword!" In the left hand of the warrior appeared an electronic taser-like hilt with a glass dome at its top. "When the equipped monster battles an opponent's monster with a different Attribute, it gains 800 ATK for Damage Calculation only. Go, Tempester (ATK: 3600), Attack Sparkman!" Rising up, the hilt produced a glowing yellow-coloured blade as the warrior swung at his smaller counterpart.

"No! Judai!" Crow yelled as the red-haired man braced for impact and his doppelganger began to laugh maniacally…

* * *

In a dark alleyway of Neo Domino City, Tenjoin Fubuki stood with a petrified look of complete dismay upon his face, watching in horror what was unfolding before him. He was in the middle of a duel with a masked figure wearing strange clothes, such as a white coat-like piece on his waist and shoulder-length fingerless gloves, whose field now included some strange field which had turned everything into a space-like setting with its original outline, as well as a large black dragon much like his own except for silver metal bladed wings and a silver metal face.

Suddenly, a large black wyvern with a segmented, armour-like body covered in polygonal-cut rubies and red trim roared out in anger before it exploded, leaving nothing between Fubuki and the twisted dragon that floated behind his attacker. "Please, I beg of you… whoever you are…" Fubuki pleaded, terrified for his life. "Let me go, spare me… I'll say nothing of this…"

Instead of responding in words, the eyespots of the figure's mask began to glow in bright yellow, revealing them as a different set of 3 horizontal lines for both sides, and the black Duel Disc strapped to his right arm began to glow a dark purple in a flame-like aura. The dragon behind the figure began to growl in a possessed fashion, its eyes also glowing red.

Raising his left hand, the figure then pointed at Fubuki, silently commanding his beast to attack. Opening its mouth with a demonic growl, the dragon formed a scarlet and black orb of energy in its mouth and shot it at Fubuki, striking him head centre and cloaking him in flames. Fubuki screamed out in pain, but his screams simply echoed off the walls of the field, failing to reach the people outside the duel.

Fubuki: LP 0

Enemy: LP 1000

Stepping over to Fubuki, the masked figure looked down upon the duelist, who had fallen upon his knees, while the flames died out and a card slid out of his Cemetery. His signature monster, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, appeared there and burst out into blackness, a flame-like aura consuming his form and dissolving him into nothingness. As Fubuki, his Duel Disc and his Deck faded out, only the dragon's card remained to rest on the ground in black flames.

The figure simply stood there for a second before picking up the card, watching the black flames like a fireplace until the card began to warp and change. It quickly changed into an effect monster bearing the metal-coated version of the dragon, and so the figure took the card and placed it on top of his Deck. Seconds later, he disappeared and the field returned to normal.

**Card of the Week – Fake Judai**

**Elemental Hero Flame Wingman**

**Type:** WIND

**Level:** 6

**Sub-Type(s):** [Warrior/Fusion/Effect]

**Effect:** "Elemental Hero Featherman" + "Elemental Hero Burst Lady"

This card cannot be Special Summoned outside of a Fusion Summon. When this card destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Cemetery, the opponent receives damage equal to that monster's ATK.

**ATK/** 2100

**DEF/** 1200

* Judai vs. Judai = Migraine. Review if you wish.*


	7. The Two Judais!

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 7 – The Two 'Judai's! E-HERO vs. Neo-Spacian?! **

"Go, Tempester (ATK: 3600)," the fake Judai yelled to his blue-covered warrior holding its electronic sword. "Attack Sparkman!" Rising up, the hilt produced a glowing yellow-coloured blade as the warrior swung at his smaller navy and gold counterpart, a tall gold bladed monster looking on unable to act.

"No! Judai!" Crow yelled as the red-haired man braced for impact and his doppelganger began to laugh maniacally. Second later, though, his laughing stopped and he grew tense when he saw Judai's stern face and his arm pointing to one of his set cards.

"Permanent Trap: Hero Shield! After activation, I equip this card to an E-HERO monster I control. I select Sparkman! Next, when the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, it is not destroyed if I send this card to the Cemetery!" The sword in the hand of the blue winged warrior sliced into the chest of its smaller navy counterpart, leaving a huge glowing scar but not destroying it.

"Your monster may have survived," Judai's double said bitterly, "but you still receive the damage!" After the sword blade of the warrior withdrew from its target, the shockwave from the impact struck Judai and he grunted in pain, his Life Points falling sharply as the blade dissolved and the warrior returned to its place beside the fake Judai.

Judai: LP 800

Enemy: LP 2500

"When Hero Shield uses its effect," Judai stated as he reached for his Deck, "for every 1000 points of Battle Damage I receive, I draw 1 card. Therefore, I pick up 2 cards!" Pulling 2 cards from his Deck and placing them in his hand, Judai looked on tensely while his imposter sneered.

"Draw as many cards as you like," the fake chastised. "It makes no difference. I set 1 card, and I use Tempester's effect: by sending Suffering of the Strong to the Cemetery, Tempester cannot be destroyed by battle." The card beside the fake Judai then disappeared, causing the power of the real Judai's monsters to reverse (ATK: 2600, LV: 7) (ATK: 1600, LV: 4).

"Why would you help Judai?" Yusei asked the fake. "Doing that made it easier for him to strike back."

"It doesn't help him at all," the fake replied arrogantly. "His skills are si far beneath mine that I don't need to further weaken his monsters. He's as pathetic as you Signers."

"Shut the fuck up!" Crow snapped, flipping off the figure with both hands. In response, the fake snapped his fingers, and Crow was suddenly covered by an electrical field that stunned him, knocking him to the floor.

"You bastard!" Judai snapped. "Leave my friends out of this!"

"Then show me what you've got," Judai's fake taunted with a sneer. "Kisama no turn."

"Draw!" Judai declared, pulling a card and spinning it around instantly. "Magic activate: Fusion! I combine Elemental Heroes Sparkman and Edgeman!" Jumping up into the air, the gold and navy warriors reached a point where they spun together, producing a huge bulky warrior complete with vice-like forearms, gold armour and a navy main body with lightning patterns on it.

"Fusion Summon! Elemental Hero Plasma Viceman (ATK: 2600, LV: 8)! And I activate its effect: By discarding 1 card, I destroy 1 Attack Position monster on the field! Vice Crush!" Taking a card from his hand and sliding it into the Cemetery, the warrior jumped forward and positioned its two massive forearms on either side of the other warrior. They then formed a yellow field of electricity around the warrior, causing it to explode.

"Nice job Judai!" Yusei stated. "If you attack goes through, you win this duel!"

"Indeed!" Judai stated. "Go, Plasma Viceman! Destroy this imposter and his Life Points!" Still standing in front of the fake Judai, the warrior expanded the electrical field between its hands and tried to electrocute the fake Judai, but unfortunately the imposter was ready with a sneer and a snap of his fingers.

"It's too easy," the figure stated. "Trap Card: Holy Barrier – Mirror Force!" While other others looked on in awe, the electricity consumed the warrior itself and caused itself to explode, causing Judai to cover his eyes while his fake laughed in psychotic satisfaction.

"This is bad!" Judai realized. "But I'm not down. Trap Activate: Rookie Fight! When an E-HERO monster I control is sent to the Cemetery by a card effect, I Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower monster from my Deck. Come, Necro Gardna (DEF: 1300, LV: 3)!" Directly in fr4ont of Judai appeared a grey and red-armoured warrior with black pants, an eye mask and long white hair in a loose ponytail, which took up a crouching position and turned blue.

"I end my turn," Judai stated, disdainful.

"Damn it," Yusei cursed under his breath. "There's nothing to do except fend off attacks again."

"That's all?" the fake asked, amused. After receiving only an angry glare in reply he chuckled darkly and said, "I'm not surprised. Allow me to show you a true move. Draw!"

* * *

Inside the infamous Bootleg tavern in Neo Domino City, patrons were all sitting around glass tables at their booths and drinking their ales, going on completely unaware of each other or the bartender and waitresses. Just as a brunette passed by the doors, Jack and Kyojo stepped into the establishment from upstairs, still in their riding suits, causing the girl to turn to them and say, "Table for two?"

"No thank you," Jack said politely, not getting his point across the way he wished, for the girl then said,

"I'm sorry, but the bar is full."

"We're not here for drinks sugar," Kyojo corrected, his voice rousing a bald patron with criminal markers under his eyes and a roughly-kept moustache and goatee. "We need to speak to a man named Syd." Suddenly, the patron stood up and began to run for the supply room exit, getting the attention of the two men and causing them to give chase.

"Hey, wait," the bartender yelled, getting no reaction."

Down the hall, Syd opened the door to the box-filled store room where Yusei, Jack, Judai and Johan interrogated the two Dark Signers' pawns months earlier, only to discover it had no windows by which to escape. Turning back to run, he only had enough time to realized that Jack was already there before he flew straight into a pile of boxes.

"Hot damn, you're a good fighter," Kyojo complimented as he and Jack enter the room, cracking their knuckles. Kyojo them slammed and locked the door behind them, and asked, "Should we give him the old Satellite shuffle?"

When Jack nodded with a dark smile, both men walked forward towards Syd, whose instincts told him to start crawling away to safety. Unfortunately, he was too slow, for Jack picked him back up by the back of the head and got shoved into a spare glass table, cutting up his face badly. Jack then picked him up and held him up facing Kyojo, who sneered as he put on brass knuckles and punched Syd in the mouth and stomach. Ignoring Syd's muffled cries of pain, Jack them threw him back into the boxes and asked, "Why did you run?"

Flipping over, Syd looked up at Jack by his bleeding face and said, "Look, I don't want any trouble…"

"Too late for that Hoss," Kyojo said. "Now answer the question before you hurt worse."

"Dark Glass sent you?" When both men nodded, Syd got back up and wiped the blood off his face, his attitude changing entirely to one of seriousness ad toughness. "I'm an undercover Officer probing a D-Wheel smuggling ring. Recently I was approached by a woman in a white cloak, a bit shorter than you two."

"Lucciano?" Jack asked, only to get a definite "no" in the form of a handshake.

"Yusuriha?" Kyojo then asked. This time, Syd nodded, creating shock on the faces of the other two men. "What did she want you to do?"

"She asked us to supply 100 D-Wheels for a Project called "El Diablo", being conducted by the Director of Neo Domino."

"El Diablo?" Jack asked. "Isn't that "The Devil" in Spanish?" Getting a nod from Kyojo, Jack pondered, "Why didn't Yusu-chan mention being sent for that operation?"

"I don't know," Kyojo replied. Turning back to Syd, he asked, "When was the deal made?"

"One week ago. My fellow officers busted the ring's section, but the director's office made the files and charges disappear out of nowhere. That Yusuriha girl was the one who told me that, right before she put me back undercover. She also told me that anything I did to compromise the mission would cost me my life."

"Then she has some explaining to do," Kyojo muttered under his breath. "Thanks for the tip." Right as Kyojo and Jack turned to leave, though, Syd snapped his fingers and got their attention.

"Before you guys leave," Syd stated, "You need to finish the job."

"What?" Jack asked, right before Syd pointed to his wounds.

"I need it to look like you roughed me up good, or you'll blow my cover."

"You sure?" Kyojo asked. When Syd nodded, he and Jack looked at each other for a split second, nodded with a smile, and turned to punch Syd in the face. Receiving both hits, the man gave a thumb's-up before falling to the ground, his eyes closing. Looking over to the broken glass table, Kyojo pulled out a slip of paper from his jacket, write on it, "This should cover the table," and left it and 2 $100 American bills among the broken pieces.

"Let's get going," Jack said. "We need to pick up Yusei and Crow and get back to the group. Yusuriha has some explaining to do."

* * *

"Ready Judai?" the imposter asked, sneering, while his counterpart looked on in contempt. "I activate Hero's Legacy; because my hand is empty and I have 2 Elemental Hero Fusion Monsters in my Cemetery, I draw 3 cards." Putting the card into his Cemetery instantly, the man drew 3 cards in a one-by-one fashion, looking at them and sneering while the real Judai snarled.

"Magic activate: Miracle Fusion. I exclude Elemental Hero Flame Wingman and Elemental Hero Sparkman from my Cemetery!" From the slot two cards slid out: a purple-bordered card for the green warrior and a yellow-bordered one for the navy warrior, and both the appeared behind the fake Judai in spirit form before leaping up into the air and spiraling together.

"Fusion Summon: Elemental Hero… Shining Flare Wingman (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" From the spiral, a huge beacon of light erupted, from which emerged a silver-armoured warrior with bladed wings, an elongated helmet, and bird-like legs, which floated down to rest behind the fake Judai. "Shining Flare Wingman's ATK rises by 300 for each Elemental Hero monster in my Cemetery. Currently, that number stands at 7, so it gains 2100 Attack Strength (ATK: 4600)!"

"This isn't good," Yusei cringed while Judai looked on in agony. "His monster is too strong to eliminate with anything Judai can summon soon."

"Magic activate," the fake Judai further added. "Hero Heart. Until the End Phase, I halve the ATK of my Shining Flare Wingman (ATK: 2300), and during this turn's Battle Phase it may attack twice. Go, Shining Flare Wingman, attack Necro Gardna! Shining Orb Shoot!" Jumping up into the air and extending the blades on its wings, the warrior formed an orb of green energy in its hands that it then threw at the crouching warrior before Judai, causing it to explode.

"Next, due to the effect of Shining Flare Wingman, the Attack Strength of the monster destroyed by battle is dealt to the opponent as damage!" Judai could only gasp before the glowing warrior appeared in front of him, shining brightly to make beams of light pierce Judai's body and damage him. As the warrior withdrew to floating in the air, Judai collapsed on his knees, shaking, while his Life Points all but disappeared.

Judai: LP 200

Enemy: LP 2500

"This is the killing blow!" The fake Judai yelled, pointing at his alter ego. "Go, Shining Flare Wingman! Direct attack the player!"

"From my Cemetery," Judai said defiantly, standing up, "I exclude Necro Gardna and negate your attack!" Directly in front of Judai, the warrior which had just been destroyed returned in spirit form, crossing its arms in front of Judai. The glowing warrior formed and shot another green orb, but it simply struck the warrior spirit, making it disappear.

"Bothersome little gnat!" the fake Judai spat. "During my Main Phase 2, I set 1 card. Next I move to the End Phase, where Shining Flare Wingman's ATK returns to normal (ATK: 4600). I end my turn."

"_I managed to survive another round,"_ Judai though, looking at his Deck, _"but the cards I have now can't help me. I need to draw a better card."_

"_You need to firm up your game," _Yubel interjected, appearing in spirit form behind him with arms crossed._ "Lt's go."_

"_Right."_ "It's my turn. Draw!" Pulling a card from his Deck, Judai looked at it and smiled, seeing an opportunity. "Magic Activate: Angel's Gift!" Putting the card into his Cemetery, Judai picked up three cards from his Deck, looking at them and smiling at one he saw. He then proceeded to take one of those cards, as well as the one in his hand, and placed them in the Cemetery.

"I summon Neo-Spacian Glow Moss (ATK: 300, LV: 3)!" Slapping his card on the tray, Judai called forth a humanoid-looking glowing moss creature with no face save for a pair of eye-like holes.

"You're summoning that weak monster in attack position?" Judai's double scoffed. "It can't defeat anything I've done so far!"

"Defeating your monsters isn't the goal!" Judai corrected smugly, slightly confusing his imitator. "Magic Activate: Neo-Spacian Extent! I evolve Glow Moss into the Level 4 Twinkle Moss (ATK: 500, LV: 4)!" The glowing creature in front of Judai slowly shifted into a slightly taller female form of itself with spiky hair and a pair of more stern-looking eyes. "Battle!"

"Your monster still has low ATK," the fake Judai pointed out. "What exactly do you hope to accomplish?"

"I activate Twinkle Moss' effect. When Twinkle Moss battles a monster, I draw 1 card. Then, it gains an effect based on the type of card." Reaching for his Deck, Judai picked up a new card from it and flipped it around, revealing Spacia Gift. "Because I drew a Magic Card, my attack becomes a direct attack!"

The female moss creature then jumped up into the air, creating a glowing green shockwave that struck the fake Judai. The result was that his form became static for a few seconds; when he reformed, his Life Points fell.

Judai: LP 200

Enemy: LP 2000

"That was a good move," Yusei noted. "Judai's found a way to deal damage and keep things steady."

"I set 1 card and end my turn," Judai stated, slapping the card down right before the monster returned to its post.

"_That was a good move, Judai" Yubel complemented. "Now you can moil for the card you need."_

"Hey, Judai!" Judai's double yelled, getting the man's attention. "Stop chatting with your Spirit and pay attention. Draw! Go, Shining Flare Wingman! Attack Twinkle Moss!" The glowing warrior jumped up into the air, wing blades extended, and it began to form an orb in his hands.

"Twinkle Moss' monster effect!" Reaching for his Deck, Judai quickly spun his card around, revealing N-Ground Mole. "Because I drew a monster, the Battle Phase is ended!" Growling, Judai's double watched while the orb in his monster's hands failed and dissolved, and his monster then returned to its spot beside him.

"You're safe for this turn," he criticized, "but don't feel too secure. I set 1 card and end my turn."

"Draw!" Judai declared, looking at his card for all of a second before slapping it down. "Magic Activate! Spellbooks of the Pot! Both players draw 3 cards!"

"How desperate, letting me draw cards," the fake scoffed as they both picked up 3 new cards.

"Tell me if this is desperate: I summon N-Air Hummingbird (DEF: 600, LV: 3)!" To Judai's left emerged a red bird-like figure with black and yellow hands and feet, white and pink tail and wings feathers, and a long beak, who took up a crouching position and turned blue. "Now, I activate this monster's effect; I recover 500 Life Points for every card in the opponent's hand!"

Nodding, the monster jumped up into the air and made its way over to the fake Judai's side, where the cards in his hand each produced pink flowers one by one. The hummingbird creature then drank nectar from them in quick succession, creating green powder that flowed from them to Judai.

Judai: LP 1700

Enemy: LP 2000

"Instant Magic Activate: Quick Summon!" Judai stated, putting a card from his hand into play. "I Normal Summon one monster from my hand. Come, Ground Mole (ATK: 900, LV: 3)!" A drill broke through the ground, and a mole-like body attacked to it then jumped up beside Judai. Then, the drill opened up and formed a pair of shoulder pads while the mole's head was revealed.

"His Neo-Spacian monsters," Crow managed to say. "His second aces."

"Magic Activate: Spacia Gift!" Judai yelled, slamming down another card. "I Draw 1 card for each Neo-Spacian I control." Once again Judai pulled 3 new cards from his Deck; then he pointed at the glowing warrior in front of his doppelganger and yelled, "Go, Ground Mole! Battle!"

The mole's two drill shoulder pads folded over and reconnected into a drill, and then it dug into the ground at its feet and made its way towards the glowing warrior just below the surface. However, all of a sudden a warp opened up behind the warrior and it ducked into it; as the void closed, the drill mole came out of the ground, with to target. "What?" Judai asked, looking at his alter when he saw the flipped card and heard laughing.

"I had this Trap Card activated: Sub-Space Matter Transfer Device! I exclude Shining Flare Wingman until the End Phase!" With that the mole's drill separated again and it jumped its way back over to Judai, who looked on in anger.

"Kisama!" Judai yelled.

"I know of Ground Mole's effect to return itself and the opponent's monster to their owner's hands and skip damage calculation," the fake Judai sneered. "Therefore, I've gotten it out of the way."

"Yes, but even so," Judai stated pointing, "You've left yourself wide open. Neo-Spacians, attack!" Both the mole figure and the moss woman jumped up and forward straight at Judai's double, ready to strike and deal damage; but they were caught off guard by the flipping of a Trap Card.

"It's too easy," he sneered. "Trap Card: Common Sacrifice!" With that Judai, Yusei and Crow stared on with a gasp on their faces, hardly able to process what had just transpired. "This card can only be activated in the opponent's turn, when my opponent controls 3 or more monsters and I control none. I send 2 monsters my opponent controls to the Cemetery, and I Special Summon 1 Level 7 or higher monster from my hand!"

"You what?" Judai asked, completely freaking out.

"I send Glow Moss and Ground Mole to the Cemetery, and I Special Summon… Edgeman (ATK: 2600, LV: 7)!" Both the mole creature and the plant creature screamed out before they warped off the field in a cloud of particles, and then in front of the fake Judai emerged the bladed golden warrior from earlier in the game.

"This is very bad," Yusei realized. "Judai's lost his entire edge. With Edgeman's penetration damage effect, if Judai receives an attack, he loses."

With a frustrated growl, Judai jammed all but the last of his cards into his rear slots and said, "I set 3 cards. Turn end."

"Not so fast," his other declared. "Return: Shining Flare Wingman (ATK: 4600, LV: 8)!" The large warp returned. Releasing the glowing warrior before it closed again with no contents. "You've lost Judai, accept it."

"Never!" the real Judai bit out, only to receive a humoured laugh. "What's so funny?"

"You're an idiot," was the callous, laughing reply. "You invested your efforts into such weak monsters as the Neo-Spacians, just as you invested trust in the Signers. But it's all a lie. Those people you call friends drag you and the rest of humanity down."

"You're lying!" Yusei yelled. "We want only what's best for this world!"

"You tried this line on me already," Judai recalled. "It won't work. As long as I have my bonds, I will not be defeated."

"Next to true power," the fake stated, "your bonds are as worthless as your Neo-Spacians." When the only reply from Judai was an angry glare, the man asked in a sarcastically hurt tone, "What's wrong? Can't you take a joke?"

"Shut up and take your fucking turn!" Judai snapped, getting nothing more than a sneer in reply.

"Very well. It's my turn. Draw! I equip Edge Power-Blade to Edgeman, and thus he gains 800 ATK (ATK: 3400)!" On the monster's forearm emerged the attachment from Judai's duel two nights ago, producing the same plasma blade and swinging it in a testing fashion. "Go, Edgeman, attack Air Hummingbird!" The gold warrior then extended wings on its back and shot towards Judai, who then flipped a card.

"Counter Trap: Attack Nullification!" The attack of the warrior then hit a barrier and bounced off, making the warrior return o its spot. "Edge Power-Blade cannot negate Counter Traps."

"I'm aware," the fake Judai stated. "I set 1 card and end my turn."

"Draw!" Judai yelled. "Trap Card: Pact of Greed! Both players draw 1 card!" After both players silently pulled a new card, Judai instructed, "Go, Air Hummingbird! Activate your effect!" Jumping up again, a pair of flowers came off the card in the fake's hand and the hummingbird drank from the both, further healing his master.

Judai: LP 2700

Enemy: LP 2000

"I summon Card Gunner (DEF: 400, LV: 3)!" On the opposite side of Judai from the bird figure appeared a small robot with a dome over its headlight-eyed head, a pair of cannon-tipped arms, and a tank tread instead of legs. "I set 1 card and end my turn."

"Draw!" the fake stated, sneering as he pulled the card he had drawn from Judai's card and placed it on the tray. "I summon Elemental Hero Prismer (ATK: 1700, LV: 4)." Between the gold and silver warriors appeared a warrior made of clear, green and blue crystal with a pair of wing-like structures on its back.

"I activate Prismer's monster effect: By revealing a Fusion Monster, I send one of its Materials to the Cemetery from my Deck and have Prismer gain its name. Reflect Change!" From his Extra Deck the card of E-HERO Elixier appeared above his head, and so he looked through his Deck and showed a card. "Because its name is also treated as Burst Lady, I send E-HERO Burst Gunner from my Deck to my Cemetery."

Placing the card there, his crystal warrior turned to light and changed into a red armoured female warrior with a flame rifle attached to her belt. "Next I activate Burst Gunner's effect: BY excluding it when it is sent to the Cemetery, I inflict damage to my opponent equal to 100 times the Levels of my E-HERO monsters."

"What?" Judai asked, right before a burst of flame shot out from the Cemetery slot of his other's Duel Disc and lit him ablaze, making him scream out while almost all of his Life Points were burnt away.

Judai: LP 800

Enemy: LP 2000

"Judai!" Yusei yelled out. "Just hold on!"

"He's out of rope!" the fake yelled. "Go, Edgeman!"

"Before you end your Main Phase," Judai said, snapping his fingers, "Trap Card Open: Desperate Tag! I activate this card by destroying 1 monster I control; then I skip my opponent's Battle Phase and draw 1 card! I destroy Card Gunner!" the small robot exploded in front of Judai as he drew a card, and then he stated, "And since Card Gunner was destroyed, I draw 1 more card!"

"Your stall tactics are only proof of your worthlessness," the fake taunted. "I set 2 cards. During my End Phase, my Prismer returns to normal." The red-armoured warrior lady then changed back into its normal form of the crystal warrior, while Judai had to look on in dismay. "What will you do now? You're all but out of cards which can save you. You can't leach off my hand for more Life Points. It's over."

"It's not over as long as I have faith in myself, my deck and my bonds," Judai stated solemnly.

"What point is there?" his fake asked. "What do you hope to accomplish? Even if you defeat me, the people I work for are far worse, and they'll destroy anything in their path. It's hopeless."

"Nothing is hopeless with the power of bonds," Judai retorted strongly, his eyes glowing as Yubel's orange and green eyes and taking his alter off guard. "It's time I showed you what true power really is. You said that true power trumps bonds, but it is through friendships and bonds that true power takes shape. Let me show you that! Draw!" Pulling his card, he quickly took one of the cards already in his hand and played it.

"Magic Activate: Hope of Fifth! I return 5 Elemental Heroes from my Cemetery to my Deck, shuffle, and draw 2 cards. I return Bubbleman, Plasma Viceman, Clayman, Wildman and Edgeman to the Deck!" As the five cards slid out from his Cemetery slot, Judai took them and placed them in his Deck, giving them a fast and vigorous shuffle before putting the Deck back in his slot. Placing his hand on the Deck, the top cards began to glow as he pulled 2 of them.

"Next, I summon Elemental Hero Prismer (ATK: 1700, LV: 4)!" Judai placed his monster gently onto the tray, calling forth the same crystalline figure that existed on the fake Judai's field. "And I too activate its effect: I send Ultimate Gen God Rainbow Dragon from my Deck to my Cemetery!" Fanning through his Deck, a windstorm kicked up as he took the card and placed it in the Cemetery, while his figure burst out in a white glow.

"What? Rainbow Dragon?!" his imposter asked, watching as the monster's light gave way to the form of a long serpentine armoured dragon composed of white links with gold trim, a double row of seven different oblong gems with the rainbow colours, feathery wings at its shoulders and other wings at its waist, a spike on its tail, four wing-like gold pieces in front of its shoulder wings, and a blackened face with 4 yellow eyes. "That monster is…"

"This monster is one of the cards that represent the bonds between myself and Johan," Judai stated. "Behold, the Master of Bonds. Magic Activate: Fusion Recovery! I return Sparkman and Fusion from my Cemetery to my hand!" After the cards slid out, Judai took the Magic card and a card from his hand, and flipped them around to see. "I combine Elemental Hero Neos and Rainbow Dragon via Fusion!"

Judai's signature white warrior with shoulder pads, red trim and black hands and feet appeared and jumped up to the chest of the dragon, where the two monsters spiraled together. With that, Judai's imposter looked on in terror as a vertical column of white light formed and the silhouette of a giant monster became visible. At that time, Judai began to chant.

"Master and protector of bonds," he said, "descend upon this earth to illuminate the darkness and bring triumph to the Light of Justice! Fusion Summon! Arise, Rainbow Neos (ATK: 4500, LV: 10)!" The light then began to fade out, revealing a mostly white and grey warrior complete with green eyes, a pair of feathered wings, segmented gold-trimmed armour over most of its body, gems of varying shapes and sizes over many parts of its body, and a knight-like plate over its face which was attached to an elongated helmet.

"That monster," Crow said cheerily. "He did it."

"That's a powerful monster there, with its 4500 attack points," Judai's double declared. "Even so, this will not be your duel. Trap Activate: Power Wave! By sacrificing two monsters I control, I select a monster on the field and add 2000 ATK to it. I select Shining Flare Wingman, and I send Edgeman and Prismer to the Cemetery!" The two monsters beside the silver glowing warrior dissolved into a cloud of particles, while that monster's points rose significantly (ATK: 6600). "Plus," he added, "due to the effect of Shining Flare Wingman, its ATK further increases by 600 points (ATK: 7200)!"

"7200 ATK?" Crow realized. "That's not good for Judai."

"And in addition," Judai's double stated, "Its effect lets me destroy 1 Defence Position monster by opponent controls!" The card then shot a bean of energy into the bird figure, destroying it outright.

"That's one of Jack's cards," Yusei suddenly remembered. "I knew you were behind that!"

"Judai, your plan is shot," the fake stated, ignoring Yusei. "Without Air Hummingbird, you cannot return Shining Flare Wingman to my Deck, so I'm safe."

"Judai!"

"I'm fine, Yusei," Judai said over his shoulder, a confident smile on his face. Turning back to his opponent with a serious face, he added, "I activate Rainbow Neos' third effect: by sending one card from the top of my Deck to the Cemetery, I return all cards in my opponent's Cemetery to their Deck!"

"What? No!" The enemy had to look on in disdain while Judai flipped a card from his Deck and placed it in the Cemetery, and a second later all the cards in the fake's Deck began to shoot back out one by one. When they were al at the mouth of the tray, they warped back into the Deck, leaving nothing within.

"Without those monsters in your Cemetery," Judai pointed out, "Shining Flare Wingman's attack strength is heavily decreased (ATK: 4500)."

"Yes it is," the fake said bitterly, "but our monsters have the same ATK. If you attack now, we'll both be defeated."

"Ah, but I still have a card or two to play," Judai informed. "Instant Magic Open: The Aftereffects of Holy Water!" Flipping up the card, Judai pointed at his opponent's warrior and declared, "I return the ATK of Shining Flare Wingman to its original value (ATK: 2500)!"

"This can't be!" _"Oh well; with my set Trap of Darkness, I can reuse Holy Barrier – Mirror Force and destroy Rainbow Neos, ending this game."_

"Finally, I activate Neos Quake!" Flexing its muscles, the gigantic white and grey warrior produced a tremor that covered all of the fake Judai's set cards in neon rainbow energy. "This turn, when I attack, you cannot activate any Magic or Trap Cards, or any Monster Effects!"

"Alright! Judai did it!" Yusei yelled, raising a fist as Crow chimed in.

"Fuckin' A!"

"Go, Rainbow Neos," Judai instructed. "Attack Shining Flare Wingman and destroy this imposter. Rainbow Flare Stream!" Growling lightly, the warrior built up a rainbow orb of energy in front of an amber gem on its chest and blasted a stream from it at the glowing warrior. The energy vaporized its target on contact, and the fake Judai screamed out as he too was erased by the blast. A timely explosion followed, which flung the group against the corrugated metal walls of the building.

Judai: LP 800

Enemy: LP 0

"We did it, Rainbow Neos," Judai said, looking up at his gigantic monster. With a nod, the monster changed back into an aura of light and disappeared, Judai's Duel Disc deactivating. "But now we need to get to the bottom of this monster and his masters, Placido and his two minions."

"_At least we've gotten rid of him," _Yubel said, trying to boost morale._ "And we've gotten the group back together."_

"Judai! Yusei! Crow!" Jack's voice yelled out. The three people then turned to see him and Kyojo running into the building, and once there they helped Crow and Yusei to their feet. Judai then got himself to his feet, his eyes normal again, and he looked at the two new residents with a triumphant smile.

"I take it you showed that face-snatching bastard who was boss?" Kyojo asked Judai in a proud-sounding voice, prompting Judai to respond smugly,

"Would you expect anything less of me, old friend?" With a bit of a chuckle, Kyojo and Jack got serious and looked over to the group.

"We've got Intel from Ushio," Jack informed. "And you won't believe what we found out.

***

Back at Ushio's office, he was writing up an arrest report when he heard a loud knocking at his door. Looking up, he saw Jack Atlus kick open the door and enter, followed by a man in a black leather riding suit, prompting Ushio to say, "You do realize you have tp pay for that door, right?"

"Send me the bill," a Texan voice issued from the black-clad man. "I've got boys that'll handle it." Upon hearing the voice, Ushio, stood up with a pleased took on his face and stepped over to Kyojo, shaking his hand.

"Ryukishi Kyojo," Ushio stated friendlily. "To what do I owe a visit from Neo Domino's old mob boss?"

"We're here to look at Judai's arrest records," he responded, prompting Ushio to look back at him in confusion.

"Judai's been arrested?" he asked, completely surprised. "That's news to me; he has no criminal record, and his arrest file hasn't even crossed my desk!"

"You performed the arrest yesterday morning," Jack countered. "You said you were as surprised as everyone and that it was an order from the top. You also said you were charging him with terrorism because of the fire in his apartment – that arson in a public place is terrorism."

"Yesterday morning I was at a Drug Bust in the B.A.D. from 6am until 11:30am," Ushio stated. "I never received any such orders from the Directory, nor does that statue exist in Neo Domino City as of yet – it's still up for review by City Council. Where was he taken? He never appeared at the station."

"He said in a phone call that he was taken to a storage building on Godwin's old property," Kyojo informed.

"Godwin's old property isn't city property anymore," Ushio stated, shocking both young men. "It was bought by the new Director after a huge meteorite crashed into the river on its edge. He refused to allow any media onto the residence and he had the military remove the object, under the supervision of a woman named "Yusuriha"."

"What?" Jack asked. "She was in on this?"

"You know her?"

"She's my ex-girlfriend and an undercover operative in Yliaster," Kyojo stated, "but I'm beginning to think she's Placido's personal lap dog after what Officer Syd told us earlier."

"You spoke with Syd?" Jack and Kyojo nodded. "She's the Director's assistant," Ushio clarified. "It's her job to oversee important matters if he cannot."

"Well, after we get back together with the others, I've got a few questions for Yusuriha, and I'm not pulling any punches this time."

"She owes us answers if she knew where Judai was really going and didn't say anything."

"If you two want authorization to investigate, I can help you out," Ushio stated. "As the Chief of D's, I have a lot of leeway, and so I can give you temporary authorization forms to aid in an undercover investigation."

"That would be very helpful, thank you," Jack stated. Seconds later Ushio pulled up a file on his laptop and printed two forms off through his office's printer; then he handed them to the two men. When they looked at them, Jack added, "These have no listed expiry date."

Ushio simply smiled in reply, giving them the knowledge they needed. "As for myself, I'll also be conducting an investigation into the conduct of the new Director."

"Don't do that!" Jack stated. "You'll lose your job!"

"The Chief of D's has more power than you realize," Ushio countered. "The Director can't uproot me without a majority vote by City Council; and since the crime rate has gone way down since I took over, that won't happen."

"Alright, thank you then," Kyojo stated. "We need all the help we can get if we're gonna sort out this mess." Reaching into his pocket, Kyojo then pulled out 10 American $100 bills, slapped them down on the desk and said, "That should cover the door."

"Don't worry about it," Ushio said, handing him back the money. "I had all the doors here beefed up to help protect officers in their quarters. Jack didn't do a thing to it by kicking it open. I was just yanking your chain earlier."

"Very well, and thank you for the forms and your time." With that both men walked out of the office, Jack closing the door behind them, and Ushio went back to filling out his report.

***

"The Ushio that arrested me was an imposter," Judai realized. "And I'll bet it was the same entity that impersonated me."

"If Yusuriha is doing all this, then who is she playing?" Crow asked, getting a headshake.

"We don't know," Jack said. "But we'll find out."

"_What exactly is Placido trying to cover up?" _Yusei wondered._ "Those cards, Wisel... is that what crashed at the Godwin residence?"_

**Card of the Week – Fake Judai**

**Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman**

**Type:** LIGHT

**Level:** 8

**Sub-Type(s):** [Warrior/Fusion/Effect]

**Effect:** "Elemental Hero Flame Wingman" + "Elemental Hero Sparkman"

This card cannot be Special Summoned outside of a Fusion Summon. This card's ATK is increased by 300 points for each "Elemental Hero" monster in your Cemetery. When this card destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Cemetery, the opponent receives damage equal to that monster's ATK.

**ATK/** 2500

**DEF/** 2100

* From impersonator to investigation. I told you I was a crime drama fan. Review if you wish.*


	8. A Traitor or a Comrade?

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 8 – A Traitor or a Comrade? Yusuriha vs. Placido**

From within the light-filled Sky Temple, Placido sat upon his throne, the other two opposite him, while he pondered the events that were unfolding. "It seems that despite its superior processing," Placido commented, "X was unable to defeat Judai."

"Judai has the advantage of a more flexible strategy and more experience with his cards than X did," Lucciano pointed out. "Likely, X simply didn't have the AI to deal with its original."

"The secret lies within Rainbow Neos," Jose stated. "It was that monster, which represented his friends, which allowed him to win. As long as he has that kind of power, no duplicate will ever be able to match him."

"Then if we recycle X, we will need to duplicate someone less attached to others," Placido realized.

"You still want to pursue that worthless venture?" Jose criticized.

"I thought it was destroyed," Lucciano said, with Placido "tisk-tisking" her.

"Did you think I'd be destroyed so easily?" the disembodied, distorted voice of Jack Atlus issued. Into the room then stepped a figure who resembled Jack, except that his outfit was grey and his eyes were red with black lines under them. "I'm disappointed."

"He lives?" Jose pondered, stunned, while Placido grinned maliciously.

"X cannot be destroyed except by a huge force," he stated. "However, the energy required to escape destruction at the hands of Rainbow Neos was left him too weak to dwell outside of a body for some time. No human body could survive X's radiation, so I had a robotic body built for him. That, coupled with the duplication of Jack's Deck, should allow him to regain his energy."

"It is time for the King to ride again," the fake Jack then stated, a dark grin upon his face.

"We need to get back to the others and tell them of what's going on," Yusei said, getting onto his D-Wheel as Jack and Kyojo did the same. Crow, however, simply stood by his, being supported by Judai; the shocking had left him too weak and numb to drive.

"Here, Crow," Judai said. "I'll help you onto the back and I'll drive." With that Judai helped Crow hoist himself onto the very rear of the seat, while Judai grabbed his helmet and got to the front of the seat.

When Crow looked at him in confusion Judai informed him, "I've had my D-Wheel license for 2 years; I just don't own one. I have been thinking of getting one though." With that everyone started the engines of their vehicles, put them in drive and quickly shot through the gates and onto the road leading from the little island back to Neo Domino City. The vehicles made quick time, getting onto the main highway and reaching 200 km/h within a few seconds.

All of a sudden, the five friends heard a sound coming from behind them. Turning around, the group saw a huge hoard of Riding Roids dressed as officers behind them, giving chase in perfect formation.

"Fuck!" Crow yelled. "How are we gonna get back with this lot chasing us?"

"I think I know!" Judai stated, his eyes glowing over as Yubel's. "Jack, Yusei! Call your monsters!" Knowing what Judai meant, Jack and Yusei both looked into their Extra Decks and pulled out their 10-star Savior Monsters, holding them to the sky.

"Take flights…" Yusei started to command.

"…Savior Dragons!" Jack finished off. With that the cards glowed and produced explosions of energy that covered Kyojo and Jack in crimson flames while covering Judai, Crow and Yusei in blue plasma. With a secondary blast, the blue plasma took the form of the plabe-sized four-winged silver and blue dragon Yusei had used the day before; while the flames spawned a red and black four-winged wyvern with white-feathered wings, a spiked tail club, three long yellow horns and a red mane, which took to the sky as well.

Inside the blue dragon, Yusei and Judai found themselves side-by-side within a starry aura of colours, with Jack and Kyojo appearing on their monitors in a flame-like field. "Now this is a way to travel," Judai stated, looking down and seeing that the dragon was currently only going the speed of the Riding Roids, but 2000 feet up.

"You wanna see a cool way to travel?" Yusei asked. "Jack, let's go!"

"Right!" With that both Yusei and Jack revved their engines, causing the dragons to fold their wings up against their bodies and become covered in a blue and a red aura, respectively, before they broke the sound barrier with a loud boom.

After their speed increased, all four D-Wheels were shifted into neutral and they watched themselves get close to the city much faster than they could on their vehicles. "This is fucking awesome!" Crow yelled out from the back of his D-Wheel, making all the others start laughing in joy while they sped towards their destination.

After less than a minute of their high-speed transit, the two dragons banked to fit between a pair of skyscrapers before leveling out and starting their descent to the ground. Just before both monsters would have impacted the ground, their forms both glowed and became much more liquid; as they slid along the road, they released the four D-Wheels and then returned to normal, shooting off into the sky towards the sun.

"We're just a couple of blocks from the hideout," Yusei said, making a sharp left turn while the others followed suit. With their speeds at 150 km/h, they shot straight into the parking lot of the hideout, spinning out in doughnut style to burn off their speed before the four drivers killed the engines and jumped off.

"That was fucking amazing!" Crow yelled out ecstatically while Judai helped him down from the ride, the latter's eyes having returned to normal.

"I swear," Kyojo said under his breath jovially, "people with Turrettte's are drawn to me like buzzards to a carcass."

"I heard that," Crow said, half-angry and half-amused. Once he had support from Judai, the five men walked into the building and down the corridors.

Standing at the doorway of the lair, Taiyou looked around suspiciously in the event that another strange entity should make their way to them. Yusuriha's assailant was a near-miss as it was; the thought of a recurrence was an uneasy one to him. However, his thoughts changed when he saw Yusei, Kyojo, Jack and Judai supporting Crow make their way down the hallways towards him, bringing great relief to the disembodied Summoner.

"Finally," he said impatiently as they stepped by, a sarcastic smile on his face. "Took you guys long enough to get back here. What's with the limp Crow? Fall off your D-Wheel or something?"

"Fuck you!" Crow said in a jokingly-offended voice. "I was electrocuted by that bastard impersonating Judai!"

"You were what?" Johan asked, coming up to Crow as Judai let him down onto a sofa to rest. "When did this happen?"

"During my duel with him," Judai answered, pulling the Rainbow Dragon card from his Cemetery and handing it back to Johan.

"Yusuriha!" Jack yelled out, sounding angry. "Where the hell are you?"

"I'm right here!" the woman's annoyed voice yelled out as she stepped into the room from a darkened doorway. "No need to yell Jack. What do you want?" Her snippy tone was not well-received by Jack, who stomped over to her and picked her up by the collar with an angry expression. "Hey! What the hell?"

"Jack! Put her down!" Aki's voice yelled out as she ran into the room and Johan too ran up to jack, pulling on his arms.

"What the hell do you think you're trying to pull?" Jack snarled out to Yusuriha, oblivious to the two people pulling on his arms. "How long did you think we'd stay fooled?"

"Fooled? Pull? What are you taking about?" she asked quickly, confused and frightened by Jack's tone and questioning.

"What are you accusing her of?" Taiyou said, getting angry but being stopped by Kyojo. "What's this about?" he then inquired of his old friend, who gave his reply with a straight and serious face.

"It seems Miss Secret Agent is really a Double Agent," he stated. "She's been giving orders on Placido's behalf, as his personal assistant."

"You're taking the word of some cop over me!" Yusuriha spat in a rage, thrashing at Jack. His reply was to get even angrier and throw her onto the couch, where Crow restrained her. "Have you all completely lost your minds? Nothing Syd told you is true!"

"How do you know who jack and Kyojo talked to?" Judai asked, walking over to the restrained girl. "They never mentioned that. Besides, it was Ushio who told us that you were Placido's assistant."

"Funny how you never mentioned that, isn't it?" Yusei chimed in, stepping up beside Judai as they both looked down on her, struggling with Crow.

"You're going by the word of the man who arrested you?" Aki asked, dumbfounded.

"The man who arrested me was an imposter. I was never taken to a police station; Placido owns the lot where I was taken."

"What exactly implicates me?" the female Summoner again asked, half-giving up fighting with Crow.

"There was a crash of some object at the Godwin mansion several weeks before I was arrested, and apparently you put a gag order on the media on behalf of Director Placido."

"Then you also made Syd traffic about a hundred D-Wheels your way on behalf of the good Director," Kyojo implicated, "before you made the file disappear and threatened his life to make him shut up about it."

"None of this means anything!" Yusuriha yelled, finally breaking free from Crow and standing up. "You're the one who put me undercover in Yliaster, Kyojo! You have no reason to be suspicious of what I do?"

"Then why withhold being the Director's Assistant?" Jack asked hostilely.

"Stop this, all of you!" Taiyou yelled. "She's done nothing wrong!"

"Really?" Yusei asked, pulling Yusuriha's cell phone from her pocket. Looking through the memory, he saw a particular message and confronted her about it. "You got a call from Placido the night before Judai was arrested. Funny how you never mentioned that either."

At that moment the expression on Yusuriha's face went blank and here eyes began to glow green. With an open fist she struck at Yusei, who dodged the blow by ducking. When she spun around to strike again, Judai caught her hand and his eyes once again flashed over into Yubel's, canceling out the glow and making the girl fall unconscious.

"What the fuck is going on?" Crow asked as everyone except him and Judai gasped.

"Placido's been hypnotizing her," Judai explained. "She has no memory of any of the times these things happened because he's been manipulating her memories. I drove him out with Yubel's power, but he's already read her thoughts"

"Which means he'll know things about our hideout," Yusei realized. "What are we going to do?"

"You see!" Taiyou said, exasperated as he stepped towards her with a finger pointed. "You see? I told you she wasn't guilty!"

"We've established that already, but we need to do something about the issue at hand," Johan stated.

"The only thing we can do is move to another location," Aki realized. "Where can we go though? Judai's apartment is burnt out, Kyojo's penthouse isn't available…"

"I know a place where we can go," Yusei stated. "There's a working-class suburb a few blocks from here called Poppo Time that has a few lots for rent. They're good roomy spaces, but they're not exactly cheap…"

"Kyojo and I have plenty of money," Judai affirmed. "We can easily cover the rent; but to maintain our cover, I think we should get jobs there and all pay into the rent."

"I agree," Jack stated. "I've been practicing building with various materials and I can make some good furniture. I just need some tools."

"I think we can all get jobs there," Aki stated. "Kyojo, can you get us fake identities to complete the cover?"

"Can buzzards fly?" Kyojo asked jokingly.

"Alright, it's settled. We're going to Poppo Time," Judai stated, putting his hand into the centre of the group. Every other conscious person then put their hand in one-by-one, and then they broke. "Where are Lua and Luca?" he then asked of Aki.

"I took them home," she explained. "We don't need to take them with us anyway."

"No, but we do need to let them know," Taiyou reaffirmed. "I can contact Luca on our way there and she'll pass along the message."

"Let's let going then." Yusei stated, getting a nod from everyone.

Back at the Director's office, Placido was dressed in his suit and eye patch, clutching his left eye in pain and looking rather angered. He had received a rather painful kickback when Judai forced him out of Yusuriha's mind; and as he lifted his hand from his eye to open a drawer of the Desk, blood began to flow out from under the patch. Opening the drawer, he pulled out a Deck of cards, with the card Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity.

"_Machine Emperor Wisel..." _he thought solemnly. _"The tests of this card with Yusei proved its power, a power almost unrivalled. But, those Saviors are almost immune to this card..."_ When a beeping sound emitted from the computer on the deck, he looked over to it and opened an e-mail which had just come up on the desktop.

"Interesting," he said to himself. Looking at the e-mail, he saw video that included the duel by Fubuki; but he was shocked when he saw who the opponent was. "No; I'm too late. I need to get this project going." Replying to the e-mail, he gave an instruction for the opponent, whose name he used, to meet him at the KC Building at midnight; then he shut down the computer, put the Deck in his pocket and got up to leave the office.

Yusuriha awoke to find herself in the middle of the stage at the lair, alone, not knowing where he friends had gone. Her head hurt, and she saw that her Duel Disc and Deck were still strapped to her arm.

Suddenly, her mind began to hurt again as she got a thought, almost like an instruction. "KC Building, 23 hundred hours," she repeated silently before looking at her watch. It said 22 30 hours. She knew she had to get going. She didn't know how, but she knew she had to be there somehow.

Forcing herself up onto her feet, she began to walk towards the doorway when she saw Johan walk in, his D-Wheel helmet under his arm. "I see you're awake," he said with a smile while he two got progressively closer, until she was within reach of him. With an unhappy look on her face, Johan found himself asking, "What's wrong?"

Without warning, Yusuriha pulled a stun gun from her robe and shocked Johan with it, causing him to fall to the ground without being able to utter a word while she grabbed his helmet and ran. He simply laid there, his limbs unable to respond to his brain, until he heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

"Johan? What's taking you?" Judai's voice yelled down the hall seconds before he stepped into the room. When he did though, the seriousness hit him and he ran to his friend, grabbing him and asking him, "What happened?"

"She… she stunned me," Johan explained, trying with Judai's help to get to his feet despite the numbness in his legs. "She took my helmet."

"Then she's taking you D-Wheel too," Judai realized. "But where's she going? She doesn't know about our new base yet."

"It's not about the news base though, is it?" Johan asked.

"Then she's going back to Placido. We have to tell the others." When Johan nodded, he managed to push himself free of Judai and stand up, right before both men bolted down the hallway.

Within 5 minutes of 2300 hours, Yusuriha pulled up to the KC Building on Johan's stolen D-Wheel, parking it and running up the front steps to the lobby of the facility. The doors were locked, so she pulled a blade out from her pocket, smashed one of the ceiling-to-floor windows and stepped through the frame. At the other end of the lobby she saw three elevators; one of them had a glowing green infinity symbol above it and an open door, so she made her way over to it and entered.

When she pressed the door close button, Placido's low and deep laughter began to echo out over the elevator's speakers, making Yusuriha uneasy. Her earlier encounter with confrontation and her realizations about Placido had a drastic effect on her perceptions. She had no idea whether she was there under her cover or under his command. Whether she was with or against him and his two companions. Who she was had become a mystery to her.

Yusuriha came out of her own thoughts when she heard the "ding" noise signaling that she was at the correct floor. When the door slid open, she saw an octagonal room with a spider-web pattern on it and two podium-like structures mounted on folding ramps overtop of a field sectioned off into 20 rectangles in a 4-by-5 pattern. _"The Kaiba Corporation still has this old place," _Yusuriha thought to herself, laughing at the prospect. _"This was the place where Yugi and Kaiba dueled for the first time..."_

"Such an illustrious concept, isn't it?" Placido's voice echoed from the other side of the gigantic room. Looking up, Yusuriha saw him standing behind the other podium in his James Bond-like white suit and his eye patch. A silver Duel Disc was strapped to his right arm, as he was left-handed, and a Deck was already loaded into it. "I take it your trip was uneventful, given how close you are to this building."

"How long have you been using me as a marionette?" Yusuriha asked coldly and accusingly. "I thought you trusted me."

"It became very clear that such trust was misplaced," the man responded. "You were a mole, abusing my trust for the sake of keeping an event like Maenou's siege from happening again."

"How do you know about that?" Here eyes went wide and she gasped when he heard her say that; she thought no one besides the Summoners, Judai and Yubel knew of his actions.

"I know many things," Placido answered coyly. "And I can continue to share these answers with you, but only if you can earn them from me." Placido then closed his eyes and snapped his left fingers; causing the podiums' ramps to fold down to a lower angle and making them hang over the field. Both people then stepped out to the podiums and pulled the retractable USB cables out from them, attaching them to their Duel Discs.

Yusuriha's Duel Disc was first to take form, folding into its X shape; and then Placido's Duel Disc formed, similar to a Standard Neo Domino one but with a 1-and-4 tray instead of a 2-and-3 one, and with Infinity Symbols on the gem and Life Point Counters. Overhead both player's 4000 Life Points appeared on 4 screens in a hockey arena-like box, and thus they drew 5 cards each.

"I'll take the first turn," Placido said calmly, drawing a card. "I summon Wise Core (ATK: 0, LV: 1) The centre rectangle of Placido's Monster Zones glowed yellow before releasing a striped silver egg-like structure in a shower of sparks. "I set 4 cards and end my turn." All the rear rectangles except the ones directly behind the object then glowed yellow and produced card backs above them.

"Draw!" Yusuriha declared.

"During your Standby Phase," Placido said, snapping his fingers and pressing a button, "I activate the Trap Card Deck Destruction Computer Virus." Looking on in dismay, Yusuriha had to watch as he explained, "I destroy a DARK Machine-Type monster I control, and I send the top 10 cards of my opponent's Deck to the Cemetery."

Glowing black, the egg-like creature released tentacles that wrapped around the Duel Disc of the female, causing electrical sparks. After that, 10 cards disappeared from her Deck and appeared in her Cemetery slot one by one: Body and Sword as One, X-Saber Palomlo, XX-Saber Fulhelmknight, Saber Slash, X-Saber Galahad, a second Fulhelmknight, Saber Hole, X-Saber Galsem, Rescue Cat and Warrior Lady of Revenge – Rose.

Then, there was an explosion at the egg-likie structure's location, producing a green glow over the entire room. "What's going on?" Yusuriha choked out, shocked by the event.

"When Wise Core is destroyed by a card effect," Placido rhymed off, fanning through his Deck, "I destroy all monsters I control and Special Summon, from my hand, Deck or Graveyard, Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity (ATK: 0, LV: 1), Wisel Top (ATK: 500, LV: 1), Wisel Attack (ATK: 1200, LV: 1), Wisel Guard (DEF: 1200, LV: 1) and Wisel Carrier (ATK: 800, LV: 1)." All five of the rectangles below then began to glow yellow and then produced sparks, producing white metal monsters one by one.

The first monster was an oblong-like object with a grey infinity symbol on it and spikes at its sides. The second one was a cobra-like object with an antenna-like spike on the left side of its "head" and a claw-like end to its tail. The third was a football-like object with a blade out the top of itself and a black tip. The fourth was a similar creature with a hinge to it and metal studs on itself. Finally, there appeared an object with two rounded spike-like structures on either side of itself.

"Summoning five monsters at once?" Yusuriha exclaimed. "This can't be!"

"Oh, but it is," Placido stated. "And now, since there 5 monsters are in play, they will form Machine Emperor Wisel." The first object began to glow as the metal at its very top, very bottom and sides retracted and that inside its Infinity symbol folded away. The foruth figure folded around on its hinge and formed a right arm with a black hand and a shield-like structure along its forearm, and the one before it extended out into a similar left arm with a blade along its forearm. The last figure then folded around into a pair of jointless legs and the three then attacked to the first, forming its limbs.

Finally, the second figure attacked to the top of it by its tail, and its front folded into a paneled black face with glowing features, and the whole creature flexed to show it now acted as a single unit (ATK: 2500, LV: 1). "Behold, the power of the Infinity series," Placido explained while the green light died out, allowing everything to be seen again.

Looking nervous and anxious, Yusuriha declared, "I Summon XX-Saber Emmersblade (DEF: 800, LV: 3)." With the mid-left rectangle of her Monster Zones glowing yellow and producing sparks, she called forth a mantis-like humanoid covered in metal armour with blue and red trim, which appeared crouching with all four of its arms folded into an X-like shape. "I also set 2 cards and end my turn."

"I expected as much," Placido stated succinctly while the two zones lit up. "There is little that can be done when faced with an Infinity monster. But enough banter; let me demonstrate its power first-hand. It's my turn. I draw." Looking at his card quickly, he pressed all the Zones he had with set cards still in them, causing them all to form a chain. "I activate 3 copies of Reckless Greed as a chain. For each card, I draw 2 cards, letting me pick up six cards; but then, I skip my next 2 Draw Phases."

"You're skipping six Draw Phases?" Yusuriha questioned, getting a sneer in reply as a red glowing paper talisman bearing the Kanji "Gouyuko (Greed)" appeared on top of his Deck.

"Normally that would be the case, yes my dear; but because these cards all formed a chain, their secondary effect does not accumulate. Therefore, I only skip 2 Draw Phases while I draw 6 cards." Reaching for his top cards, Placido pulled six of them in one motion while his opponent looked on at him in total dismay. "Next, I activate Wise Wave!"

"What is that card?" Yusuriha asked worriedly as the green glow returned and sparks began to form from the head and limbs of Placido's monster.

"This card allows me to send 4 Wisel Cards to the Cemetery to replace them with monsters 2 Levels higher but with the same root name. Therefore, I call Wisel Top 3 (ATK: 800, LV: 3), Wisel Attack 3 (ATK: 1600, LV: 3), Wisel Guard 3 (DEF: 2000, LV: 3) and Wisel Carrier 3 (ATK: 1100, LV: 3)." In a split second the sparking limbs formed a bright, blinding flash of light, and so Placido stared on in amusement while Yusuriha covered her eyes.

From the light emerged four new machines while the robot was reduced to its floating chest. Where the head had been was a rat-like white machine with a black face and LED lights, which folded out into a more round head with a shorter neck formed from its folded up legs and a ponytail-like object formed from a tail. Second was a long oval-shaped object with axe blades on either side and a piece on top with a sharp point and two curved blades, which folded out into a left arm with axe blades at the top, the curved blades on either side of the forearm, and a sword blade attached to the wrist, attaching itself as well.

Third was a large white wheel-like object with a five-lobed base and several rivets, which then folded out into a new arm with the five0lobed base as a shield, and it two attached itself to the body. Finally, a vehicle with two large boosters, a circular form and a triangular nose formed and folded around into a pair of long jointed legs set onto the former cockpit and complete with booster-backed feet, attaching itself to form the waist and legs of the robot. The new figure then let out a mechanical guttural noise, and flexed its limbs to show that they functioned (ATK: 3500, LV: 1).

"It's already got all new parts and 1000 more ATK?" the female Summoner exclaimed, looking on in dismay.

"Indeed, and it only gets worse from here my dear," Placido informed, holding up a card. "I equip Opti-Camouflage Armour to Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity." All of a sudden the form of the large robot became obscure and almost invisible, while Yusuriha looked on in exasperation. "This card can only be equipped to a Level 1 monster, and said monster can attack the opponent directly. Go, Wisel!"

"I don't think so!" Yusuriha issued. "Trap Card: Gatmuz' Urgent Orders! I Special Summon 2 XX-Saber Fulhelmknights from my Cemetery (DEF: 1000, LV: 3) (DEF: 1000, LV: 3). From zones on either side of the mantis warrior erupted the crouching forms of the two young female armoured warriors with metal segmented whips, one of which swung out and struck the machine to stop it cold. "One time only, Fulhelmknight may negate my opponent's attack."

"Very well then," Placido said calmly. "I set 4 cards and end my turn." _"That's it my dear, Synchro Summon your ace monster."_

"Draw!" Yusuriha declared. "I tune my Level 3 Fulhelmknight to my Level 3 Emmersblade!" Spinning her whip around herself like a streamer, the warrior formed three loops with it that transformed into green rings before disappearing. These green rings then flew over and covered the mantis warrior, changing it into a yellow outline of itself and then 3 white orbs. "Come forth, the mistress of the sword and the goddess of war!" Yusuriha declared. "Banish the mortal foes and unleash thy might! Synchro Summon! Arise, XX-Saber Hyunlay (ATK: 2300, LV: 6)!"

The white orbs formed a column of white light while the green rings vanished, releasing a samurai-like female warrior complete with an electronic blade, metal armour and a full-head visor, who appeared on Yusuriha's field and swung her sword. "When this monster is Synchro Summoned, I destroy up to 3 Magic or Trap Cards on the field, and I choose three of your set cards Placido!"

"Then I am afraid you must fail," Placido said simply, snapping his fingers while a Trap Card flipped. "I chain the Trap Card Hierophants' Wand. With this, my opponent draws 1 card, but during this turn card I control cannot be destroyed by card effects." Once the card disappeared, Yusuriha looked frustrated while she drew a card and Placido's cards were unharmed by the swinging blade of her warrior.

"Then I'll simply tune my remaining Fulhelmknight to my Level 6 Hyunlay!" The second small female warrior began to spin the whip around herself until it formed three loops that changed into green rings. These surrounded the other warrior and transformed her; first into a yellow outline, then 6 white orbs, and finally a column of light.

"Master of War and Arms of the Heavens," Yusuriha chanted, "rise up in this battle and take up arms against our foe! Let slip the dogs of Roar! Synchro Summon! God of the Sword, XX-Saber Gatmuz (ATK: 3100, LV: 9)!" From the light same the swinging dual-bladed sword, and then the armoured silver body, of her massive warrior, who let out a loud battle cry.

"Go, Gatmuz! Attack Wisel Top 3! Sword of Destruction!" Staring over at the metal head of the robot, the gigantic warrior grunted and prepared to release a powerful swing, but suddenly the right arm of the machine came forward to intercept the brunt of the blade.

"Sorry my dear," Placido informed, "But I activate the effect of Wisel Guard 3, meaning once per turn I may negate the attack of 1 opponent's monster against a Wisel monster." Though the warrior tried to force its blade through the robot's arm, it was deflected and was forced to return to its place before its master.

"I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Then I shall skip my Draw Phase due to Reckless Greed," Placido responded, noting the talisman still at the top of his Deck. "Next, I shall activate the effect of Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity." The Infinity Symbol on the robot began to glow green, until it opened up like a mouth and shot out 6 green tentacles, almost like spider threads, of energy that wrapped around the gigantic armoured warrior, causing it to dissolve into the open symbol, at which point it closed.

"What the hell just happened?" Yusuriha asked in dismay.

"Once per turn, Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity may equip one opponent's Synchro Monster to itself to gain its attack strength unto its own (ATK: 6600). What's more, is that you now have only your two face-down cards to protect you from my monster. Therefore, I attack your Life Points directly with Machine Emperor Wisel 3!"

"I activate my Trap Card!" Yusuriha declared. "Holy Barrier – Mirror Force! Because you attacked, I…"

"I'm sorry my dear," Placido countered, snapping his fingers and causing a Trap Card to appear. "Permanent Trap: Royal Decree. For as long as this card remains face-up on the field, all other Trap Cards are negated." With that the Trap Card in front of Yusuriha shattered like glass and she was left with nothing to save herself.

"Fare thee well." With that, the robot fired a green blast of energy from its centre, striking Yusuriha dead on and knocking her back against the wall, out cold. Her cards were strewn all over the podium and ramp, and so Placido retracted his Duel Disc's USB cable, cutting the Solid Vision. With that, his Duel Disc deactivated. _"What a shame," _Placido lamented. _"She was such a useful individual."_

Yusuriha: LP 0

Placido: LP 4000

Suddenly, from upstairs, Placido heard the sound of a familiar voice screaming out in terror and pain. _"The Duel Arena above this one, on the roof,"_ he realized, running to the elevator on his side and getting in. When he pressed the up button, the entire device shut down; but he then lit up his Infinity Symbol on his eye patch, and suddenly it started up to the next floor.

When the door opened, Placido saw a sight he never thought could possibly be true. Around the entire place, the arena had been rendered a purple and red space-like effect, though glowing green outlines still gave away what it had been. The two combatants were at opposite ends; one was none other than Kaiba Seto, dressed in his Battle City outfit and with no monsters in front of him but his massive three-headed white dragon (ATK: 4500, LV: 12).

Opposite him, mostly covered in a black cloak, was a figure with mostly yellow long hair, who was also wearing a mask that was black on its right side and white on its left, and which had patterns of lines where its eyes should have been. Behind him, hovering, were two dragons; one was the black dragon with red eyes and metal wings and upper jaw, the other a white dragon complete with a black faceplate and wings of dull grey and black metal. _"I see he's already made his way here,"_ Placido realized, slightly despaired at that prospect.

"It is my turn," the low, deep voice of the cloaked figure let out as he drew a card. "I activate a Magic Card known as Riryoku. With this, I halve the ATK of your Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (ATK: 2250) and then add that lost amount to my Red-Eyes (ATK: 4650, LV: 7)."

"What?" Kaiba asked out in terror. "No, it can't be!" With that Kaiba watched in horror as energy was drained away from his three-headed dragon, which roared out in agony; and that power was funneled into the black dragon, which growled demonically.

"I'm afraid so," the figure answered, sounding pleased with himself under his mask. "I attack Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon with Sin Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Darkness Flame Bolt." With that the dragon blasted a flare of pitch-black flames straight at the dragon, causing it to explode and making Kaiba shake on his feet.

"Next I attack the opponent directly with Sin Blue-Eyes White Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8). Burst Stream of Darkness." Roaring out, the monster formed a ball of black static energy in its mouth and shot it straight at Kaiba, striking his dead on and obscuring him in a black explosion. When the smoke cleared, nothing remained of him but his Duel Disc. The two dragons then faded away, as did the field, as the figure pocketed the white Dragon's card.

"_Now's my chance,"_ Placido realized. Drawing his sword, he leapt down upon the robed and masked figure, sticking his sword's tip straight through where his left eye would be and taking a few steps back. However, seconds later, the figure pulled out the sword and threw it at Placido's feet, and not a drop of blood came from the wound.

"You're still pursuing me, Placido?" the figure asked, sounding completely unenthused and bored. "You haven't changed at all over these long years, have you?"

"You seem to have forgotten by tendency to get what I want, Paradox," Placido countered putting his blade back in its scabbard at his belt. "Your actions, however noble you think they are, will only bring more destruction."

"Humans deserve destruction. They've led this world to oblivion."

"And they could just as easily lead it to salvation. You need to give humans a chance to fix their mistakes."

"They've had more than enough chances. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you and I can stop being at odds."

"That's never going to happen," Placido stated, holding up his Five Wisel Cards and summoning the gigantic robot behind him. "Last time we fought you had the upper hand, but that advantage now lies with me. My associates and I will stop whatever abomination you plan upon unleashing, Paradox, and we will bring this world to a far better state."

Seeming amused by Placido's statement, Paradox replied with, "For the sake of this planet, and the worthless humans, I hope you are right." With that he faded out in a cloud of white and black particles, leaving only Placido on the top floor of the KC Building.

"_My time is running out," _he realized._ "I need to acquire the rest of Infinity's power if I am to prevent Armageddon. I must fight not only Paradox, but the Signers who are playing right into his hands."_

All of a sudden, Placido head footsteps coming from behind him. Turning around, he saw Lucciano coming towards him, seeming concerned for something. "Why have you come here?" he asked, getting a reply through a face best described as a sarcastic sneer.

"I heard you were coming here to deal with the traitor in our midst," she replied. "Jose told me you were going to deal with the Summoner, so I came to see that. But you had already dealt with her by the time I got here, so I went looking for you. Who was that man you were speaking to?"

Frowning and turning off to one side, Placido explained, "He calls himself Paradox. He comes from humankind's distant future, which is best described as a wasteland. He's an incredibly warped cynic and misanthrope because of it, so he's trying to destroy humankind. I've been in an arms race with him for some time, but I can't get the upper hand on him unless we receive more of the Infinity series."

"I see," Lucciano replied, almost lamenting. "Then… why are you out to destroy the Signers if that's such a priority?"

"Because the Signers don't realize… that they're the ones who created him…"

"Yusuriha!" Judai and Johan yelled out, running up to the KC Building's elevators and pressing the up button. Having followed her on a separate D-Wheel, they knew she had come to this building; and Judai knew that the gravity of the situation would be incredibly high.

When the elevator finally opened, they stepped inside and Johan pulled out a cell phone. Dialing in Yusuriha's number, there wasn't even any ring tone of the other side; but Johan's phone told him that she was on the top floor. Pushing the button, Judai and Johan waited while the elevator quickly made its way up to the top floor, where they started running as soon as the doors opened.

When they entered the Duel Arena, they found themselves on the viewing balcony, about twnty feet above the actual devices. Catching something out of the corner of his eye, Judai pointed to a figure lying slumped against a wall, unconscious and dressed in a white robe. When Johan saw too, Judai hopped the railing and jumped down, landing on the ramp and running over to Yusuriha.

"Is she alright?" Johan yelled down, for Judai to respond less than a second later.

"She has a pulse," he explained, sounding oddly worried, "and she's not injured badly."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"No," Judai said gravely, picking her up and hoisting her over his shoulder. "She's unconscious with no apparent physical cause. That doesn't bode well…"

**Card of the Week – Yusuriha**

**XX-Saber Gatmuz**

**Type:** EARTH

**Level:** 9

**Sub-Type(s):** [Beast-Soldier/Synchro/Effect]

**Effect:** 1 Tuner + 1 or more EARTH Monsters

Activate by releasing 1 "X-Saber" monster you control. Your opponent discards 1 random card.

**ATK/** 3100

**DEF/** 2600

*Confused yet? Me too. Review if you wish.*


	9. Yliaster on the Move

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 9 – Yliaster on the Move, Kyojo vs. Jack Atlus?**

Two weeks after the incident at the KC Building, down in the old England-like suburb of Poppo Time, Taiyou and Johan were in the middle of a duel. The gang had managed to find themselves a large empty building that appeared to have been a recreational centre at one point, but now it was a large group home which Yusei, Jack, Crow and Judai had managed to furnish with self-made furniture.

At the duel, Johan had 2 set cards on his field, as well as the ruby, topaz and emerald gemstones in his Magic & Trap Card Zone. He also had his Sapphire Pegasus (ATK: 1800, LV: 4), a whit winged unicorn with a sapphire horn and gems on its wings. He had one card in his hand.

Taiyou, on the other hand, had 3 cards in his hand, 1 Set card, a face-up Permanent Magic, and his Crusader of Endymion (ATK: 1900, LV: 4), an armoured warrior whose limb pieces were held in place with floating rings. His field card, Magical City Endymion, was also in play, meaning the building resembled a mystical city; the card floated in midair with two counters on it.

Johan: LP 3800

Taiyou: LP 4000

"Draw!" Taiyou declared, pulling a card. "I summon Tuned Magician (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)!" From a blue vortex emerged a mostly green and white plant-like magician with a runic ring suspended around its torso. "Next, I equip Superbis to my Tuned magician, so it gains its effect: it is now treated as a Tuner Monster." A bright red aura then appeared around the monster as a counter appeared on the field card.

"Next, I activate Crusader of Endymion's effect, and I place 1 Magic Counter on my Citadel to have him gain 600 ATK (ATK: 2500)." With that the power of the warrior rose as yet another counter appeared on the card, before Taiyou pointed at the monster. "Go, Crusader, attack Sapphire Pegasus!" Jumping forward, the warrior slashed through the winged horse, causing it to explode. It did not form a crystal because Johan's Zones were full, so he instead put it into his Cemetery.

Johan: LP 3100

Taiyou: LP 4000

"Now, Tuned Magician, attack Johan directly!" The monster acknowledged its task by jumping forward and striking Johan with the staff in its hand, making Johan cringe as he took the hit.

Johan: LP 1300

Taiyou: LP 4000

"Next I activate the Trap Card Urgent Tuning! I perform a Synchro Summon in the Battle Phase, to I tune me Level 4 Tuned Magician to my Level 4 Crusader of Endymion!" With a burst of light, the newer magician changed into 4 runic rings, which then became the green Tuning rings to surround the other monster. It then changed into 4 orbs of light, and then a column of light erupted from it.

"Great Warlock of the afterlife," Taiyou chanted, "rise up upon this world and bring the magic of destruction to the darkness. Synchro Summon! Harbinger of Magic, Magician's Deathscythe (ATK: 2800, LV: 8)!" From the light emerged a tall magician whose face was hidden by a reaper-like cloak, one that wore black armour and carried a scythe-like staff. "Now, Deathscythe gains 2 Magic Counters, meaning it has 400 extra ATK from the get-go (ATK: 3200)!" Two purple lights then appeared on the warrior, meaning its power rose suddenly.

"And next, due to Superbis' effect, I Special Summon Crusader of Endymion from the Cemetery (ATK: 1900, LV: 4)!" With a glowing light from his Cemetery returned the armoured warrior in a powerful glow, leaving Johan in what seemed like a dead position. However, he simply smiled as he flipped a card.

"Reverse Card Open: Gem Split! I send Gem Beast Cobalt Eagle from my Deck to my Cemetery, and I halve the ATK of Magician's Deathscythe for this turn (ATK: 1600)." Reaching through his Deck, Johan pulled out a card and placed it into the Cemetery while the power of the black magician fell.

"Even so Johan," Taiyou stated, "You've got nothing to save you from my killing blow!"

"Oh really?" Johan asked. "Reverse card open: Rainbow's Gravity! This card can only be activated while there are 7 Gem Beasts among my Field and Cemetery, and due to its effect I call upon Ultimate Gem God – Rainbow Dragon (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!"

"What! No way!" Taiyou said, interested to see the legendary monster. With that seven different coloured lights appeared, and then converged into a vertical column of rainbow light. From that appeared his Signature white dragon with gold trim, large wings and two of each different gem along its body.

"Awesome! That's a legendary monster in the Spirit Realm!" Taiyou blurted ecstatically. "I've waited a long time to face that creature."

"Then this is your chance," Johan said, winking as he did so.

"Well, since it's stringer than any of my monsters, I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Draw!" Johan declared.

* * *

"Are you sure this Paradox is the same individual you have been pursuing for the past few years?" Jose questioned of Placido. After the incident regarding the Kaiba Corporation Building, he had sent Lucciano back to the hideout, but had not himself returned. After all that time, he had finally made his way back to them.

"There is no doubt in my mind," was the reply from the man. "He has the voice and the misanthropic speech that marks him in my mind. Paradox is a far stronger enemy than the Signers, but they must still be eliminated first so he can be destroyed."

"What did you mean, when you told Lucciano the Signers had created him?"

"He was himself a Signer. But, the mark was lost to him after his persistent tampering with history. The world he comes from is in ruins, and he's trying to find a means by which to create something other than a desolate wasteland."

"Then to date he clearly has not succeeded," Jose simply stated out of logic. When Placido shook his head to show that it was not true, he Jose and Lucciano were completely stunned. "Then… why does he persist?"

"His own self has become warped through the process of his alterations to the timeline," Placido informed. "His voice has become different, parts of his hair have changed colour, and his mind has become unstable and obsessed. I fear he has become a psychopath, and so he cannot be persuaded or controlled."

"And he truly poses a threat to what we are trying to do?" Lucciano pondered aloud. "If humanity is eventually either destroyed or corrected, would that not satisfy Paradox and make it easier for us to complete our goal? Even if he has had a result that is better than the one he has now, I'm sure he'll stop with something ideal."

"Even if he does know how to stop," Placido countered, "reality can't be rewritten over and over again without consequences. When VCRs and VHS were first made, people would record television programming over and over again on them; but over time, the images would become grainy and the tape would degrade. The same thing will happen to reality if we cannot stop it."

"You're saying it could fall apart," Jose realized. "Then we do indeed need to deal with this threat. But how will we accomplish this?"

"Perhaps if we can destroy the Signers and capture the Crimson Dragon's energy, we can prevent his existence," Lucciano suggested. "What better use for your robot collection, Placido?"

"Funny," Placido replied, clearly unamused though Lucciano giggled at her own joke. "But… perhaps there is something in using X. Perhaps we can draw out X by luring him to our Jack Atlus stand-in; defeating him in a Duel would stop him and release any of his Sins captured."

"Then it is settled," the fake Jack issued from the other side of the room, having just stepped in. His voice had become an exact cop of Jack's, complete with pitch and tone and absent the mechanical distortion. "This Paradox shall become an opponent of the King, and there I shall defeat him."

"You must make sure you improve your power over last time," Jose instructed. "Your one duel with Jack did not ready you for dueling Judai. This time, test Jack's Deck against a number of different opponents through many Riding Duels."

Crossing his arms, the make Jack shrugged and said, "Very well. After all, it is the role of the King to best even his greatest knights. The time is now to ready myself for battle." Uncrossing his arms, the fake Jack stepped out into the hallway of the temple and continued on, his footsteps echoing along the stone.

"Do you really believe that X can defeat Paradox?" Lucciano asked of Placido, who smiled schemingly.

"It does not matter," he answered. "He will buy us enough time to find a more permanent solution; perhaps even collect another of the Infinity series." With that, both the other Infinity members gained the same malicious smile as Placido, who then sat down in his throne while they all looked at the vision orb below.

* * *

Back at the Poppo Time, Jack was alone in a moderately-lit basement room, cutting several piece of wood on a chop saw in order to make some cabinets that the gang could sell for spare money. Aki had used her talents as a sketch artist to get him some detailed drawings to follow, and Crow had picked up some good cedar boards to cut up and brought them back on the Blackbird – all Jack had to do was assemble the pieces.

Placing a two-by-ten into the path of the blade, Jack prepared to cut one of the decorated doors by marking out the cut line with a pencil. He then pushed it into position, pressed the trigger, and pulled back the arm of the saw; but just as he was about to plunge it, he felt somebody place an arm on his shoulder.

"What the…!" Jack yelled in surprise as he jumped, making him spin around and release the trigger on the chop saw. It sliced through the sleeve over his left arm, giving him a small slice along his forearm and making him grunt out an indecipherable curse. Looking back, he saw the face of Carly standing there, smiling and looking happy while Jack clutched his arm in pain.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you alright?" Carly rushed out, turning concerned while she pulled out a piece of cloth from her pocket to tie around his arm.

"Why the hell did you come up to me like that?" Jack snapped at her, half forgetting that it was his girlfriend. When he realized she was hurt, he softened up a bit and said, "Carly, I… I'm sorry; I lost my head there, and I…"

"No, it's okay; I shouldn't have surprised you like that," she stated.

"It's my fault Jack," Judai said from the top of the stairs leading down to the basement. "I told her that she should surprise you."

"When did you get her here?" Jack asked of him.

"She was discharged earlier, but her car was still at her apartment," he explained. "I brought her here on a D-Wheel I just recently bought."

"You what?" Jack asked, clearly not happy with him. "We're supposed to be using money wisely to preserve our cover!"

"It was a used model," Judai clarified. "I got it cheap, and Yusei and I fixed it up. Besides, I needed it for my job."

"That's better," Jack stated as Judai hopped the railing and made the ten foot jump down onto concrete without so much as stumbling or flinching.

"There's something you need to see," he then stated, pulling out an issue of the Daily Duel, the paper for which Carly was formerly employed. Opening the article to page 6, it showed a picture of Jack on his D-Wheel, with his signature dragon by his side, as he ran his opponent off the road. Jack simply looked on in complete shock as he saw this, while Judai said, "I take it you have nothing to do with this."

"Nope," Jack stated. "I have no idea who that guy is, but he's clearly trying to impersonate me."

"Well, it says in the article that the D-Wheeler who looks and sounds _exactly_ like you kept calling himself in the Third Person as 'The King'."

"I haven't called myself that in several months," Jack countered. "But I used to do it all the time for my fans; I'll bet somebody picked it up to use for some sort of prank."

"Prank?" Judai asked, expressing that Jack was taking this too lightly. "The man in that picture was hospitalized with a broken collar bone and a crushed shoulder. That's a little extreme for some prank. Where were you last night when this happened?"

"You're actually thinking I did this?" Jack asked, thinking Judai was in fact blaming him.

"Of course not; but the police will see it that way unless you have a good alibi. Your little investigation with Kyojo has taken you far way from us these past few nights, and the last two nights away even from him. Unless you can give yourself an alibi, you've got no chance."

"Well, last night I went down to the shipping yards to find an informant who said he had spoken with Yusuriha regarding the D-Wheels," Jack recalled. "He told me where he'd be via cell phone. He never showed up, though."

"That's not going to help you," Judai informed. "Unless somebody else can verify where you were."

"Kyojo rejoined me at around midnight," Jack informed, making Judai nod. "Where and when does the article say the attack took place?"

Judai looked quickly back at the paper, and said, "Around 1 a.m., near the shipping docks like you described."

"By that time I was already back here and asleep," Jack stated.

"You don't need to convince me," Judai pointed out. "Right now the police are thinking it's just a publicity stunt, a few young delinquents making viral videos with fake cards and a few good impressions; but I get the feeling there's more to it than that."

"You think Placido's behind this?" Jack asked rhetorically, getting a nod on reply nonetheless. "Well, I guess we need to figure out just what it is they plan to do before…"

"Hey, Judai!" Yusei yelled down to the red-headed duelist, getting the attention of everyone downstairs. "There's something you need to see!" With that Yusei ran back into the darkness of the above floor and Judai, Jack and Carly followed suit, running up their stairs and down the hall to a den in the building where a television was running. Johan, Aki, Yusei and Taiyou were all there, watching intently as the story blared.

"What's the big fuss?" Judai asked, his reply coming from Aki pointing at the Television. On the screen was a female reporter with the headline "Mysterious Duelist Stealing Cards."

"_At least two duelists have already been attacked by the assailant," _the woman stated,_ "including professional duelist Tenjoin Fubuki and Corporate Tycoon Kaiba Seto. Both men disappeared approximately two weeks ago and have just recently resurfaced; but both claimed to be missing a single card from their Decks. Mister Tenjoin claimed to be missing a signle copy of Red-Eyes Black Dragon while Mister Kaiba was missing one of his three Blue-Eyes White Dragons."_

"One of those cards is missing?" Judai said aloud, watching as the story went on.

"_Both men describe the assailant as wearing a white and black drama mask with patterns over the eyes, a black cloak and using a deck of cards with "Sin" in their names. Mister Tenjoin also claims the figure never spoke to him, while Mister Kaiba claims him to have a deep, low voice."_

"Sin?" jack asked aloud. "Anyone here heard of these cards?" When everybody shook their head "no", he looked back to the television.

"_The Director of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau, simply known as Placido, has stated that he is devoting his utmost resources to eliminating the threat."_ With that the man himself, wearing his white suit and black eye patch with his red iris and black hair, appeared and said,

"_It is in the greatest interests of Neo Domino City that we do everything we can to stop this menacing individual before he causes more serious injury or even death."_

"_Mr. Placido,"_ a reporter said in the background of the interview, _"do you believe this incident to be related to the alleged Jack Atlus imitations going on?"_

"_I can tell you that at this time no connection has been drawn between them, but duel to confidentiality policies I can tell you no more than that."_

"What?" Jack asked in a rage. "Even Placido is acting like he knows it's an imitation, and worse still he's asked about it in such a trivial way?"

"Calm down Jack," Yusei instructed. "Why would this individual be stealing single Normal Monster Cards if he had access to their whole Decks? It just doesn't make sense."

"Did you see Placido's reaction when he was asked about it?" Taiyou asked, causing everyone to look at him.

"When he was asked about the Jack incident?" Johan asked getting a glare from the man himself.

"The whole time," Taiyou clarified. "I've learned to pick up on lying rather well. What he said about devoting resources seemed genuine, but the look in his eyes… it told me he knew more than he was letting on. I think he lied about not knowing this masked weirdo."

"And you think he lied about it being connected to Jack?" Judai asked. When Taiyou nodded he further asked, "You think this Jack imposter is the cloaked card thief?"

Taiyou shook his head. "No, but I do think there's a connection. Notice that the Jack incident started up very recently, after those two came back from wherever it was they were. Perhaps Placido knows who or what this figure is, and is trying to… well, I'm not sure. But I do know there's more going on than he's saying."

All of a sudden, a story came on the television that got everyone's attention. _"Police have issued an arrest warrant for Jack Atlus after another incident of Riding Duel attacks resulted in the death of an undercover cop named Syd."_

"What? Syd's dead?" Jack shouted, unable to grasp what was going on.

"_Syd was found dead with his skull crushed in and his entire deck shredded after an anonymous tipster e-mailed a video of the Riding Duel to the local police."_ Suddenly some of the video, shot from a rear-view perspective, came onto the screen and showed a dark grey version of Jack's Wheel of Fortune riding behind Syd and his D-Wheel.

"_Hahahahaha!"_ The Jack-like individual laughed, strong and insane-sounding. _"Feel the true power of the King!"_ With that a Synchro Summon animation brought forth a familiar-looking grey and red dragon, which dove upon Syd and punched him in the head. The video cut out at that point.

"_Police had until recently discounted the possibility of Jack Atlus being the culprit due to the character of the man and the fact that his signature monster, Red Daemon's Dragon, had never been used. However, this has changed now that the monster has appeared. This marks the first death in the Jack Atlus incident, and the first time footage of the event has been produced."_

"This is bullshit!" Jack yelled in a fit of rage, punching the wall.

"Isn't it convenient that shortly after Jack spoke to Syd he became one of the victims?" Yusei asked suspiciously. "Did Yusuriha ever learn of the incident with him?"

"Yes she did," Jack recounted, "when we interrogated her. But, as far as I know, Yusuriha never regained consciousness after you found her at the KC Building."

"The KC Building!" Judai said, snapping his fingers. "Kaiba disappeared the night Yusuriha went to the KC Building, which we've established was under orders from Placido."

"You think she was a victim of this assailant?" Taiyou asked; that being his turn to pick Judai's brain after Judai picked his.

"No," Judai clarified, "but that means Placido would have been there when Kaiba was attacked, and it also means he saw her after we moved locations. That's probably when he learned of Syd. We assumed right from the beginning that she was harmed by Placido, but maybe not before he got something out of her."

"And what does that have to do with this mystery assailant?" Taiyou pondered.

"I bet it's no coincidence that he had Yusuriha meet him the night Kaiba disappeared. He knew something was going to go down and he arranged that meeting as a cover, so we wouldn't figure out what he was really doing there."

"It was the elimination of a loose end," Yusei realized. "Placido's real target was that individual."

"Exactly. Maybe if we get to the bottom of this Jack incident we'll find out what's really going on."

"Where's Kyojo?" Jack asked out of nowhere, looking through his cell phone for Kyojo on his contacts. When no one answered him, he pushed the button and got a hold of Kyojo, asking him the same question.

"_I'm near the docks,"_ he answered.

"Wait there for me; we have to meet and discuss a plan of attack." With that Jack closed his phone and started to leave, but Yusei grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him. "What do you want?" Jack asked in irritation.

"You're honestly going out there with an arrest warrant issued for you?" Yusei asked.

"I think Kyojo might be the next target for this imposter," Jack stated. "I have to make sure he's alright."

"Then Kyojo would get arrested too," Judai stated.

"And he's be safe from that thing," Jack issued. With that he broke free of Yusei and ran farther out into the hallway, at which point Yusei called out his name again and got him to stop.

"Take this!" Yusei yelled, tossing him a card. Jack quickly caught it, looked at it, and said,

"Trust Guardian, eh? Thanks; this might come in handy." With that he ran off, only for Judai and Carly to start running after him.

"We might need to keep Jack and Kyojo safe," Judai said with a thumbs-up.

"And maybe I can clear Jack's name," Carly added, right before both ran off in the same direction as Jack.

* * *

Down at the wharf, Kyojo had begun doing tight laps around the roads and buildings awaiting Jack, his D-Wheel GPS on and searching for Jack's signal. Even the thrill of circling buildings at 200km/h had begun to lose its thrill, and so he began grumbling to himself waiting for Jack to arrive.

Suddenly, his GPS picked up on a signal coming nearby. Because it caught him off guard, his head snapped down to the GPS screen and he looked at the signal. It was one he did not recognize; it was one a similar frequency as Jack's Wheel of Fortune, but it had no serial number. Then, just as he pondered, he heard the roar of an engine in front of him and looked up.

"What in tar nation?" he asked rhetorically just before the headlights of the oncoming D-Wheel switched to high beams and blinded him. Seconds later he felt the D-Wheel crash into him head-on and the sound of a familiar, deep-throated laugh, Jack's laugh; but it was more malice than he remembered. Spinning himself around, he gave chase to what he then saw to be a dark grey Wheel of Fortune; but since it was nightfall, he could not tell that and he asked, "is that you Jack?"

"How dare you address the King so casually!" came the roaring reply in Jack's voice, in a way far more hostile than Kyojo would have thought from him. Suddenly, he remembered the news articles and the despicable thought entered hid mind.

"Hot damn, it's that imposter!" Kyojo yelled out at that point.

"Imposter? The only imposter is you, Ryukishi Kyojo! You're nothing more than a Court Jester who put on a brass crown and called himself a King. Bah! You're the King of Fools!"

"Shut it, you damned buzzard!" Kyojo yelled, getting nothing more than the deep laugh as a reply. Grunting in frustration, Kyojo then issued, "Alright, how's about I give you incentive to shut up! Duel me!"

"A feeble knave who has the gall to challenge the King is a fool," the imposter yelled back, "But the King must respond to may challenge. I accept!" With that both players pulled Decks from their pockets and inserted them into the Deck Zones of their D-Wheels; then they pressed a button on the console.

"Speed World 2! Set on!" they both yelled as the autopilot kicked in and the vehicles then set into a holding pattern around the docks, and they both then drew 5 cards. "Riding Duel! Acceleration!" the two men then bellowed, declaring the game on.

Kyojo: LP 4000

Enemy: LP 4000

"As the pursuer, it is your first turn so you may entertain the King!" the fake Jack yelled back to Kyojo, making the man grunt. However, he then noticed the Infinity Symbol quickly form encircling the two D-Wheels, making him realize what was going to happen.

"Fine, I draw!" Pulling a sixth card, he took it and another 3 cards and jammed them into slots. "I set these 3 cards, and I summon Masked Dragon (ATK: 1400, LV: 3)!" Three cards appeared on either side of Kyojo and disappeared, two to his right and one his left, and then a blue vortex opened and released a mostly red dragon whose body had many-jointed wings, spiny ridges and a mask-like face. I end my turn!"

"That's the best the so-called Former King can do?" the fake Jack scoffed. "Such moves are hardly fit for rank amateurs. Let me show you a true King's move! It's my turn! Draw (Kyojo: 1 SPC/Enemy: 1 SPC)! I Special Summon Vice Dragon (ATK: 1000, LV: 5)!"

From a blue vortex before the fake Jack emerged a purple dragon with a dinosaur-like body that included massive jaws and limbs, as well as thin green-membrane wings. "I also summon the Tuner Monster, Flare Resonator (ATK: 300, LV: 3)!" Right beside the dragon emerged the robed demonic creature with glass red orb rod, flaming back and raccoon-like face. "I tune my Level 3 Flare Resonator to my Level 5 Vice Dragon!"

Banging its Tuning fork into its glass rob, the creature changed into 3 white orbs that became green rings, which surrounded the purple dragon and made it into 5 white orbs. These then formed a vertical column of light. "The ruler's heartbeat will now file through here," the fake Jack chanted, imitating his namesake's chant. "Take witness to its creation-shaking power! Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!"

The white column of light then burst into flames, releasing an almost blackened version of Jack's massive grey and red dragon that clenched its fists and roared at Kyojo, showing more hostility than usual. "That's the combo Jack used when he partnered with me," Kyojo realized. "How dare you mock my friends?!"

"Your friends are worthless pawns to the King!" the fake Jack yelled. "Due to the effect of Flare Resonator, Red Daemon's gains 300 ATK (ATK: 3300). Now go, attack Masked Dragon! Absolute Power Force!" Forming a burning fist, the dragon punched and shattered its smaller foe just as red electricity consumed Kyojo, making him grunt in pain.

Kyojo: LP 2100

Enemy: LP 4000

"That's some real fine damage right there," Kyojo stated. "With real pain, just like with Jack and the fake Judai. But, you're helped me too. Trap Card Open: Damage Condenser! I discard Minkie Dragon from my hand to Special Summon 1 monster with 1900 or less ATK from my Deck! Come, Lava Dragon (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)!" Placing a card from his hand into the Cemetery, light emerged from his deck that conjured a long Salamander-like creature with 8 legs and a growling mouth of teeth.

"Next, due to the effect of Masked Dragon, I Special Summon Twin-Headed Behemoth from my Deck (ATK: 1500, LV: 3)!" With that another dragon joined Kyojo, one who had a human-like body and a pair of different heads for arms, which growled at Jack. "See? I can swarm the field with Dragons too!"

"Your masochistic strategy to use your damage to fill the field is a great one indeed," the fake Jack complemented, "but its wastefulness makes it unworthy of the King!" Pulling two cards from his hand, Pedigree of the Destruction God and Nightmare Daemons, he jammed them into the slots of his grey Duel Tray and said, "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Then it's my turn!" Kyojo yelled, drawing a card (Kyojo: 2 SPC/Enemy: 2 SPC). "I activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton, so I draw 2 cards and discard 1!" Pulling his 2 cards, he saw a monster he could spare, so he placed it into the Cemetery. "I change Lava Dragon to Defence Position (DEF: 1200)!" With a growl, the long creature turned blue and curled up its limbs. "Next, by releasing this creature, I Special Summon 2 Masked Dragons, one from my Cemetery (ATK: 1400, LV: 3) and one from my hand (ATK: 1400, LV: 3)!"

Changing into a neon orb, the creature released two beams of light that formed two red and white dragons identical to the one he had just called forth. "Next, I summon Debris Dragon (ATK: 1000, LV: 4)!" Kyojo then called forth his white dragon with green wings and armour and 4 orange orbs. "Through its effect, I Special Summon Minkie Dragon from my Cemetery (ATK: 400, LV: 2)!"

Once again, Kyojo was joined by another dragon; this time, it was a small wooden-looking one with a painted form and a long segmented neck. "It's hammer time! I tune my Level 4 Debris Dragon to my 2 Level 3 Masked Dragons!" Growling, the dragon's wings released 4 green rings as it disappeared; two surrounded each dragon and made them into 3 white orbs each. Then they formed a vertical column of 4 rings and 6 orbs, which formed a column of light that burst into flames.

"The minions of hell will now rise up from the earth," Kyojo chanted, "to destroy the forces of evil and ignite the pyres of dogma! Synchro Summon! Incinerate, Trident Dragion (ATK: 3000, LV: 10!" From the light exploded a massive red serpentine dragon complete with white underbelly, three heads each with a short black horn, no limbs and massive compound wings. This creature growled demonically and loudly, almost intimidating the dragon before the fake Jack.

"That's certainly a large and dark creature," he stated, "and one worthy of the King's battle! Come!"

"Ask and ye shall receive, hoss!" Kyojo declared. "I activate Trident Dragion's effect: When this card is Synchro Summoned, I destroy 2 cards I control so that he gains 2 additional attacks this turn! Go, Satan's Militia!" Roaring loudly, the image of a card back appeared beside the small two-headed dragon right before two of the three heads bit down on those two and crushed them; then, each of the heads let out its own Satanic roar.

"Because the set card was Dummy Marker," Kyojo explained, "I draw 1 card!" Pulling his card, he quickly looked at it and declared, "Next I exclude my Minkie Dragon so I can Special Summon Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon (ATK: 2800, LV: 10)!" Turning into a neon orb, the wooden dragon released a large black wyvern with red trim and encrusted rubies along its segmented form, which was completed with a metallic coating.

"Once in one turn, Red-Eye Metal allows me to Special Summon 1 Dragon-Type Monster from my hand or Cemetery, Revive, Dark Horus Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" From the Cemetery slot of his Duel Tray erupted a beam of black flames that released a black metal bird-dragon, with a feathered and a lizard's tail, talons, a blue gem on its forehead and red eyes.

"Finally, I activate my Trap Card: Dragonic Enrage! All Dragon-Type monsters I control gain 400 ATK until the End Phase for each Dragon-Type monster that exists in my Cemetery; at this moment, there are 5 Dragons, so that's a 2000 Point bonus for all of my monsters (ATK: 5000) (ATK: 4800) (ATK: 5000)!" All five of his monsters were then lit up by powerful red flames, making them absorb energy and roar out loudly.

At the top of the building nearest where Kyojo and the fake Jack were Dueling, the real Jack, Judai and Carly pulled up on Jack's and Judai's D-Wheels, looking down upon the events. "Kyojo's got this duel in the bag," Judai stated. "The cards that guy set were Nightmare Daemons and Pedigree of the Destruction God."

"How do you know that?" Jack asked. "We're too far away to see their cards."

Judai's eyes then flashed over into Yubel's and he explained, "I have the ability to see what cards they both have using these powers."

"I see," Jack stated. "Then Kyojo's about to win."

"Go, Trident Dragion! Destroy that imposter! Lucifer's Firestorm!" The centre of the three heads of the gigantic red monster then began to form a ball of red, purple and black flames in its mouth, at which time the fake Jack sneered and laughed. "What's so funny?"

"You've fallen into the King's trap, you petty knave!" Reaching for the button of the zone where Nightmare Daemons was, the card itself became fuzzy as its makeup shifted. At that time none of the regular humans could see it, but Judai felt it and said to Jack,

"Something's up about his card."

"What do you mean?" Before Judai could answer, however, the fake Jack pressed the button and yelled out,

"Trap Card Open: Roar of Pride!" the image of said card then appeared where Nightmare Daemons should have been.

"What?" Kyojo and the others all yelled out in unison.

"By paying Life Points equal to the 1700 points of difference between our monsters' attack strengths," the fake reminded everyone, "Red Daemon's gains that amount plus an additional 300 points; therefore, it gains 2000 ATK (ATK: 5300)!"

"No!" Kyojo yelled out as the dragon on the fake Jack's field formed a fireball on its fist and jumped up to the mouth of the dragon which was gathering energy. Punching into it, the dragon created a huge explosion that bathed the red creature in flames, roaring out demonically as it exploded. The shockwave then knocked Kyojo's face forward into the console, making his head snap back and dizzying him.

Kyojo: LP 1800

Enemy: LP 2300

"Damn it!" Kyojo said aloud. "My monsters can't defeat his dragon now, so I have to end my Battle Phase."

"Then you must skip to your End Phase," the fake Jack pointed out, "where the effect of that Trap destroys your dragons!" Both of the black dragons behind Kyojo then exploded and made him duck, but at that point a blue vortex appeared beside him.

"Yes, but in the End Phase my destroyed Twin-Headed Behemoth returns (DEF: 1000, LV: 3)!" Through that vortex appeared the crouching humanoid dragon, this time blue. "I end my turn."

"Then I draw (Kyojo: 3 SPC/Enemy: 3 SPC)! And it is time the King brought this show to a close! Red daemon's, attack Twin-Headed Behemoth! Absolute Power Force!" Once again the large dragon formed a burning fist and swung it into the opposing creature shattering it. Kyojo's D-Wheel was knocked into the corner of a building by the shockwave, causing it to crash and eject Kyojo from his seat.

"No! Kyojo!" Judai yelled down as the fake Jack, who has pulled around half a kilometer ahead of Kyojo, sneered and spun around to face Kyojo with his Dragon.

"The end is now for you, knave! I activate Pedigree of the Destruction God!"

"This is bullshit!" Jack yelled out, revving his D-Wheel's engine.

"When my opponent's Defence Position monster is destroyed, my Level 8 monster gets to attack twice this turn!" Just as the imposter said this, his D-Wheel pulled around in the loop to below Jack, at which point Jack jumped his D-Wheel off the building and onto his faker, making both D-Wheels go in opposite directions and crash into walls.

"Jack! You're here!" Kyojo yelled out as his friend hit the wall just ahead of him, the faker hitting the wall of a building opposite that one.

"I call bullshit!" Jack yelled to the faker, who looked up and at him with a sneer. "That card wasn't Roar of Pride when you set it! It was Nightmare Daemons!"

"What?" Kyojo asked. "Is this true?" he yelled up to Judai, who nodded with his eyes still as Yubel's. Turning back to the faker he yelled, "Why you cheating fucking huckalero!"

"It was a necessary task," the imposter said proudly, the mechanical distortion returning to his voice. It was at that point everyone realized he was the same type of entity as what duplicated Judai, but it was what it said next that shocked everyone. "I had to ensure that some imposter didn't earn the title of King when they deserve only to die and rot among the riffraff of this world!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Jack yelled. ""Shut the fuck up, you robotic imitating piece of shit! You lose because of that little stunt, so now Yusei and I can dis-fucking-mantle you!"

"Is that what you want?" the faker asked, sneering. "Kyojo's reputation will fall apart, having won by default if he otherwise would have lost."

"You're wrong!" Jack yelled, offended by this ploy. "I'll continue the duel in Kyojo's place, and fight for his honour!"

"Then you start with his Life Points and SPC, and a fresh hand."

"I'll take it!" With that both Jacks pulled themselves out from the wall and revved their engines, getting to a single position.

"Jack!" Kyojo yelled, tossing a card to Jack. Taking it, Jack saw Kyojo's copy of Red Daemon's Dragon, which he nodded to and slipped it into his Extra Deck.

"Dueling with the card of the false King?" the fake Jack said. "How foolish!"

"The only false King is you!" Jack roared. "I'll show you: that a true King is one who fights with the power of his friends, because true victory is to be shared among a King's subjects!"

"Then enough methodical quibbling!" the fake yelled. "Let's go!"

Both duelists then yelled, "Riding Duel! Acceleration!" and shot off along the track, getting up to speed quickly.

"I set 2 cards and end my turn," the fake issued. "Now, show me your power, if you claim to be a real King!"

**Card of the Week – Kyojo**

**Trident Dragion**

**Type:** FIRE

**Level:** 10

**Sub-Type(s):** [Dragon/Synchro/Effect]

Effect: 1 Dragon-Type Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Dragon-Type Monsters

This card cannot be Special Summoned outside of a Synchro Summon. When this card is Synchro Summoned successfully, you may destroy up to 2 cards you control. If you do so, this turn, this card may attack that many extra times.

**ATK/** 3000

**DEF/** 2800

*Behold, a true King's duel! Review if you wish.*


	10. Behold, the Duel of a King!

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 10 – Behold, the Duel of a King! Jack vs. Jack!**

At the base if the building where Kyojo's D-Wheel had crashed, Judai suddenly ran out from the doorway and grabbed the man by the arm, helping him up. "Are you alright?" he asked of his friend. "Can you walk?"

"I don't think I've broken anything," Kyojo responded, leaning on Judai a bit. "This suit's pretty protective; but my legs hurt like a son of a bitch."

"Come on, let's let up to the roof," Judai said, yurning them both around as they stepped back into the doorway.

Just as they entered into the building, Jack and the fake Jack passed by again, the fake out in front and Jack having just drawn a fresh hand. With his opponent having just set 2 cards, it was not Jack's turn, and so he reached for his Deck.

"_One card can turn this situation around," _he realized, seeing the three Piece Golems and two Trap Cards in his opening hand. "It's my turn! Draw (Jack: 4 SPC/Enemy: 4 SPC)!" Looking over at his card, he realized he had gotten exactly what he needed. "I activate Speed Spell – Speed Fusion! Since I have 4 SPC, I send Fusion Material Monsters from my hand or field to the Cemetery to Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster!"

"Fusion Summoning?" the fake Jack questioned. "Give me your worst."

"I fuse Big, Mid and Small Piece Golems! Come forth, Ultimate Piece Golem (ATK: 3800, LV: 10)!" Up from Jack's hand jumped three rock-based figures. The largest one was a dark grey creature with a rough cylindrical body including rock-hewn lips below green eyes, long arms and short legs with big feet. In front of it stopped a piece creature with a muscular form including regularly-proportioned limbs, red eyes in cracks in its face and a ridge down its head and back. Smallest and in front was another cylindrical creature with big feet, long arms and almost no legs; but this one had a helm-like hole in its face with human blue eyes, and a ponytail of rocks.

These three creatures then all spiraled together, and from that spawned a single massive rock creature with traits of all three and some new ones. Its chest was formed by a large boulder-like rock with an Easter Island statue-like face mounted on it, a ridge down the back of the head to the bottom of the back. Its arms looked like the largest creatures, but with boulder-like shoulders and brick-like upper arms; its lower body was formed of cinder block; and its legs were long and jointed with five-toed feet and sandstone pieces above large red brick.

"Way to go Jack!" Judai and the others cheered out. "Show him who's King!"

"That's certainly a powerful monster," the fake Jack stated, "But a true King is always prepared. Trap Activate: Junk Dealer!" Surprising Jack, he explained, "when my opponent Fusion Summons a monster, I Special Summon the materials used to my won field in Defence Position (DEF: 0, LV: 5) (DEF: 0, LV: 4) (DEF: 0, LV: 3)." From three vortexes emerged blue versions of the three rocks that had fused, in crouching positions.

"The monsters Special Summoned by this effect have their effects negated, and they cannot be Released or used as Fusion Material Monsters. However, you know full well what that means I can use them for."

"_He intends to use them for Synchro Summons,"_ Jack realized. "Still, I'm in prime position." "I attack Red daemon's Dragon with Ultimate Piece Golem! Gaia Knuckle!" The large rock creature swung its huge fist at the dragon, connecting its torso-sized fist with the chest of the Dragon. The monster roared out as it flew fifty feet into the air and exploded, the shockwave striking the fake and making him cringe.

Jack: LP 1800

Enemy: LP 1800

"He damaged that imposter's Life Points!" Carly said, enthused and jumpy as she pulled out her digital camera and began to take pictures.

"Indeed, he's off to a great start," Judai stated, Kyojo giving a thumb's-up.

"Damn you! Damn you, you fucking knave! You dare to disgrace the King's Duel!" the fake yelled back at the real Jack, confusing him slightly.

"By destroying your fake Dragon, I've insulted your duel?" he questioned, getting a snapping reply.

"Not simply by destroying it, but by doing so with a Fusion Monster! Fusion Monsters are the outdated cards of fools and wannabes."

"Then you need to refresh your memory!" Jack yelled. "Yuki Judai is a Champion Duelist who uses Fusion Monsters."

"Yuki Judai is a fucking imposter to the throne of dueling! Real Kings use brute force to claim their victories, and that is to be done for Synchro Monsters! Yuki Judai is nothing but an outdated fucking joke!"

"Shut the fuck up about my friend!" Jack yelled. "I'll show you what these so-called outdated cards can do! I set 2 cards and end my turn!"

"Draw (Jack: 5 SPC/Enemy: 5 SPC)!' Jack's imposter declared. "And it's time we took this Ride in a different direction!"

"What are you taking about?" Jack's question was soon answered when his imposter passed the building where his friends were again; instead of keeping the tight lap, he shot out down a side street, forcing Jack to give chase onto the highways of Neo Domino City.

"Where are they going?" Carly asked, being just as confused as Jack and the others were by this maneuver.

"I don't know," Judai responded, "but we'd better go after them!" With a nod, all three of them got onto Judai's parked red, black and chrome motorcycle-like D-Wheel and put on helmets, and then the man himself jumped off the building and onto the street, where Kyojo got off and jumped onto his own vehicle.

"Hey, she still runs!" he said ecstatically, pulling it vertical and starting it up. With that both of the two vehicles shot off after Jack and his imposter, remaining at a distance but being close enough to see the action.

"What is this about?" Jack asked. "What do you intend to prove?"

"I felt our duel needed a new venue," his imposter stated. "Intermission is over! Trap Card Open: Piece Together! When I control all 3 Piece Golems, I draw 3 cards!"

"Permanent Trap!" the real Jack declared in chain, "Powered Destiny! When my opponent draws cards via a card's effect, I draw the same number of cards!" With that both Jack and his doppelganger pulled three cards and placed them in their trays, at which time the fake Jack sneered.

"Thank you, knave," he stated. "For now, I send your face-up Powered Destiny Trap Card to the Cemetery, as a cost, and I Special Summon Trap Eater from my hand (ATK: 1900, LV: 4)!" All of a sudden a purple leathery piranha-like demon with a massive mouth full of gigantic curved teeth came up from under the Trap Card upside-down, swallowing it whole and turning right-side up before returning it its controller.

"A Level 4 Tuner Monster?" Jack questioned taken off guard by such a move. "Are you going for Daemon Chaos King?"

"Stop being so fucking naïve!" Jack's double roared. "I Tune my Level 4 Trap Eater to my Level 4 Mid Piece Golem!" Growling loudly, the purple monster opened its mouth and released 4 white orbs before disappearing; these rings surrounded the beige rock creature vertically, changing it into a yellow outline of itself containing 4 white orbs. The outline then disappeared, and the orbs formed a vertical column of light.

"Synchro Summon! Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" Bursting forth from the light, another of the blackened grey and red dragon from earlier appeared and roared at Jack, showing its readiness for battle.

"A second Red Daemon's?" Jack gasped, sharing the same sentiment as the others while the imposter sneered.

"Yes, and that's not all! Because I successfully Synchro Summoned a monster, I Special Summon the Tuner monster Synchro Magnator from my hand (ATK: 1000, LV: 3)!" From a blue vortex shot a metal cylindrical creature with big bulging eyes, a top-like bottom ad a pair of jointed arms with three-clawed hands, which made a strange groaning sound.

"I tune my Level 3 Synchro Magnator to my Level 5 Big Piece Golem!" With that the metal monster changed into three green rings that surrounded the largest rock monster before him, changing it into 5 white orbs and then a column of light. "Synchro Summon! Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" Once again, a blackened red and grey dragon emerged from the light, growling at Jack while it made itself known.

"This is getting pretty intense," Judai stated. "If that thing can manage to get out a few more cards, it's game over for Jack."

"Permanent Trap Open: Boosting Resurrection! I Special Summon the Level 3 Tuner Monster Flare Resonator from my Cemetery, with 100 more ATK and DEF and 1 Level higher (ATK: 400, DEF: 1400, LV: 4)!" Shooting up from the Cemetery slot, said burning monster reappeared and began to laugh in a gremlin-like way.

"I summon Dark Angel (ATK: 0, LV: 1) From the blue vortex emerged a black-winged figure dressed in battle armour, which created the image of a Red Daemon's Dragon card above it. "When this card is Summoned, I return 1 DARK monster from my Cemetery to my Deck and draw 1 card!" With the card disappearing, he pulled a card and yelled, "Tuning!"

"This again!"

"I tune my now Level 4 Flare Resonator to my Level 1 Dark Angel and my Level 3 Small Piece Golem!" Clanging its glass rod into its tuning fork, said monster changed into 4 green rings that rose up into the air, followed by the armoured black-winged figure and the smallest rock creature. Said creatures turned into 1 and 3 white orbs, respectively, and then they formed a vertical column of light. "Synchro Summon: Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3300, LV: 8)!"

Yelling at the top of his lungs, the fake Jack called forth from a burst of flames the dragon he had first summoned at the beginning of the duel, roaring as it looked on at Jack and formed a triangular formation with its two clones, that one being at the top.

"I don't believe it!" Judai yelled out, completely stunned. "He actually performed the Synchro Summon of 3 Red Daemon's Dragons in one turn!" All of a sudden a loud whirring noise was heard overhead, and a news helicopter appeared above the duel and began to follow it.

"Looks like we have a real audience now!" the fake Jack yelled. "Prepare for the closing act of this tragedy, where the poor fool tastes the blade of the King! I activate Speed Spell – Speed Energy! With this, my original Red Daemon's Dragon will gain 200 ATK for each of my Speed Counters, and I have 5 (ATK: 4300)!"

"No!" Jack yelled, stunned and concerned about such a move being made by his opponent.

"Battle! Red Daemon's, destroy his Ultimate Piece Golem! Absolute Power Force!" Once again the dragon formed a huge fireball over its fist and swung it up into the chest of the massive rock monster, causing it to explode. Jack's D-Wheel swayed from side to side, but he managed to hold it upright. Seconds later, though, he received a taste of the red electricity, making him cringe.

Jack: LP 1300

Enemy: LP 1800

"Trap Activate!" Jack declared. "Synchro Polymer! When a Fusion Monster I control is destroyed by battle, I Special Summon 1 Tuner monster from my Deck with the same Level as one of that Fusion Monster's Fusion Materials, and I end the Battle Phase!" From his Deck slid out a single card, and he slapped it on the tray and declared, "I Special Summon Trust Guardian (ATK: 0, LV: 3)!"

Before Jack appeared a small blue-robed figure wearing a large pink hat, which had wings both on its back and the sides of its head. "Such a pathetic creature before the King will be trampled like a bug!" the fake declared. "I set 2 cards and end my turn!"

"You're wrong!" Jack yelled. "This card is a symbol of the bonds with my friends, and it is through that which I will defeat you!"

"Bring it on!"

"Draw (Jack: 6 SPC/Enemy: 6 SPC)!" Looking at his card quickly, Jack saw his chance and declared, "When my opponent controls 2 or more monsters, I can Normal Summon Power Invader without Release (ATK: 2200, LV: 5)!" From the blue vortex emerged a massive, muscular creature with blue skin and a small, upside-down teardrop-shaped head whose face only included yellow bulging eyes. Its body was clothed in purple, and it made a strange hissing growl as it appeared.

"Alright!" Kyojo yelled. "He's busting out the big guns now!"

"I Tune my Level 3 Trust Guardian t6o my Level 5 Power Invader!" The blue-robed monster then changed into 3 white robs that became green rings and surrounded the giant alien monster, turning it into 5 white orbs and then a vertical column of light. "The High Ruler of Hell will now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power! Synchro Summon! The soul of Burning Justice, Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!"

The white light then turned crimson and released Kyojo's glowing red version of the massive grey and red dragon, roaring strongly at the opposing dragons. At that moment, Jack's Signer Mark began to glow on his arm because of the creature's presence, and then the fake Jack declared, "Even if such a monster is more powerful than those others, the card of that imposter will never be powerful enough to stop my dragons!"

"We'll see!" Jack yelled. "I set 3 cards and end my turn!" Three cards appeared around Jack: one to his left, one to his right and one directly in front of him, and then they all disappeared.

"Then let the show continue!" the fake Jack yelled, spinning his D-Wheel around to face Jack. "It's my turn (Jack: 7 SPC/Enemy: 7 SPC)! Battle! Go, Red Daemon's, attack that imposter's beast! Absolute Power Force!" The powered-up dragon formed another fist of flames and struck the dragon in front of Jack' making the energy consume and shock him, but the dragon withstood the attack with only a few shallow scratches. "What's this?" the fake asked.

Jack: LP 1000

Enemy: LP 1800

"A Synchro Monster summoned through Trust Guardian can reduce its ATK by 400 to prevent its destruction by battle (ATK: 2600)!" Jack stated. "I'll show you; while power can come and go, the bonds with friends will never die!"

"Then you'll have to die in its place!" the fake yelled. "I attack with a second Red Daemon's Dragon!" The dragon then formed a similar fireball over its fist and struck Jack's monster in the face, splintering its right horn (ATK: 2200) and shocking Jack again.

Jack: LP 600

Enemy: LP 1800

"Prepare to die! I attack with the third and final Dragon! Fare thee well, Jack Atlus! Blazing Crimson Hell Flare!" The final dragon quickly built up a blast of flames in its mouth and shot a stream of molten flames at Jack's dragon, bathing it in fire and creating an explosion.

"Jack!" the others welled out in worry as the imposter laughed at the perceived destruction of his foe.

"It's just as I told you!" the fake Jack yelled out. "Before true power, the bonds of friendship are as useless as your worthless Fusion Monsters, Judai!" the man himself then cringed as the fake pointed at him and laughed. "You're next!"

"I'm afraid you'll have to reschedule that duel!" Jack's voice yelled out from the flames as he shot out from them, his dragon still right beside him. When the imposter showed clear confusion as to the event, Jack stated, "I activated the Trap Card Half Force. Now, I halve the Battle damage from that attack to my Life Points, and then after damage calculation I add that value to my monster's ATK. Thus, my dragon's power remains at 2200."

Jack: LP 200

Enemy: LP 1800

With Jack's Life Point number now in red on everyone's D-Wheel, the fake spun his D-Wheel back around forwards and said, "You may as well give up. Your monster has lost so much power that it cannot fight against my Dragons, and your Life Points are one strike away from absolute destruction. You have no ability to continue. You can never defeat the King!"

"Never say never!" Jack yelled. "It's my turn (Jack: 8 SPC)! I activate the Trap Card, Half Straight! With this card, I halve the ATK of Red Daemon's Dragon until the End Phase (ATK: 1100), and now I can attack the opponent directly. Go, Red Daemon's! Attack this imposter!" Roaring, the dragon on Jack's field built up a load of energy in its jaws and fired it straight at the fake.

Unfortunately, the figure took on square on as a challenge. Snapping his fingers, he stated, "Trap Activate: Drain Shield! I negate the attack from that pathetic dragon and add its ATK to my Life Points!" The flames were then channeled into the imposter's Duel Disc and he laughed out maniacally as his Life Points rose.

Jack: LP 200

Enemy: LP 2900

"Oh no!" Carly yelled. "Now it's gotten even harder for Jack to defeat this enemy."

"No more pulling punches Jack!" Judai yelled up to him. "If you wanna get rid of this imposter, you need to do whatever it takes!"

"I end my turn!" Jack yelled up to his opponent with a grunt, making the man laugh.

"If it is so easy to defeat you," he said, "then I thank you for your performance. You were so convincing as a challenger to the Throne, but the time has come for your curtain to fall! Draw (Jack: 9 SPC/Enemy: 9 SPC)! Battle! Red Daemon's, destroy this wannabe's Dragon!"

"Trap Card Open: Sub-Space Matter Transfer Device!" Jack yelled, a rip in the dimension forming behind the dragon which it then slipped into. "I exclude Red Daemon's until the End Phase!"

"What?" the fake asked, seeming outraged for a moment before he burst out laughing. "I see; you'd rather spare your dragon the scars of battle and simply accept your defeat head-on! I praise such nobility! Battle!" the powered-up dragon then formed a fireball in its mouth and shot it at Jack, but Jack simply slammed a card down on the tray.

"I don't think so!" he yelled while a huge demonic creature resembling a pendulum appeared above him. Its face was skull-like, it had a bell for a right arm, and the pendulum that made up its lower body struck this bell, negating the fireball.

"You Special Summoned Battlefader (ATK: 0, LV: 1) and ended the Battle Phase, did you?" the fake asked. "You're as persistently annoying as ever." Grunting, the man looked up and suddenly jerked left, causing Jack and the others to follow suit onto what turned out to be the Daedalus Bridge. Once they got on, the D-Wheels of Crow and Yusei entered onto the bridge, with Aki also on Yusei's D-Wheel and Luca on the Blackbird with Crow.

"Jack! Hang in there!" Yusei yelled up to his friend.

Huffing smugly, the faker then said, "There is nothing left to hang onto for your friend. His dragon is battered and bruised, and nothing stands between him and my dragons but a lone monster with 0 ATK."

"That voice…" Yusei recalled. "Judai, is this…?"

"It's X alright," the man responded over the helmet headsets.

"You're wrong!" jack yelled up to the fake, making him actually take note. "I do have plenty to hang onto: I have the friendships I've created and their power. It is through my friends that my – no, Kyojo's Dragon has endured its fights, and now the time has cone for it to claim its revenge!"

"Then come and get me!" the fake yelled. "I set one card and end my turn!"

"Then in the End Phase, my Dragon returns (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" Once again the void opened up, this time releasing the glowing dragon with no scratches on its body.

"Because that dragon left the field," Crow realized, "its ATK was restored; but it also means it can't use Trust Guardian's effect anymore!"

"Why don't you just give up?" the fake once again inquired of Jack smugly. "Your dragon cannot use your effect to survive another attack from my dragon, and so your Life Points will be destroyed. I've beaten you into submission; your dragon is just like you are now."

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked.

"It's a mere imposter to the Crown. A wolf that has lost its claws and fangs, and a shell of what it once was. You are exactly the same; you're a shadow of the King who ruled over duelists since the beginning of Riding Duels, and now it's time I exile you so a true ruler can rise up!"

"Are you done spouting your fucking bullshit?!" Jack yelled up to him, actually surprising the man. "My friends have brought me a long way from the shallow and selfish man I once was; I no longer fight for the glory, for the fame or fortune, not for myself at all. I fight because we are all in this together, and together it's time we took you down!"

"Well said," Kyojo said, smiling.

"Behold, the power of the bonds of friendship," Jack said, raising up his right arm to reveal the glowing Wings mark. At that moment the other 4 Signers' marks lit up and disappeared, along with Jack's, and then the completed Seal of the Crimson Dragon appeared on his back. "A power that it without limit, without parallel, and which knows no bounds! Draw (Jack: 10 SPC/Enemy: 10 SPC)!"

Grabbing onto his top card, it began to glow strongly in gold and he pulled it up and raised it into the air, yelling, "Appear now: Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" From the light shot up the red teardrop-shaped dragon with bladed wings and large head complete with bulging greed eyes, at which time he turned to his other dragon and yelled, "Kyojo's Red Daemon's!"

Getting the dragon's attention, it looked down at Jack and growled softly to show connection as Jack said, "The time has come to make your matser proud and cast out this imposter once and for all!" With that the dragon raised its head and roared out strongly, showing its readiness to fight, and so all three monsters rose up into the air and the red teardrop dragon became huge. "I tune my Level 1 Savior Dragon to my Level 8 Red Daemon's Dragon and my Level 1 Battlefader!"

When the dragon reached its massive size just above the news chopper, the other dragon rose up into it along with the pendulum demon, both turning into yellow outlines of themselves and releasing 8 and 1 white orbs respectively. These then filed into a line inside a green ring in the dragon's body and Jack chanted, "Polished, Lone Light! Become the true High Ruler and illuminate the Earth! Shine your Light!" Finally, Jack jumped up into the air as a column of light exploded from the dragon and consumed it in red light, swallowing Jack as well and forging the outline of a new monster.

"What is this?!" the fake then asked as the light shone down, almost brighter than the sun despite it being the night. The light was so strong that the D-Wheelers were forced to cover their eyes, and the cameras inside the helicopter were burnt oit by the strength of the light.

"Synchro Summon!" Jack's echoing voice yelled down. "Creation-shaking soul, Savior Demon Dragon (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!" Shattering the light around it, a modified version of Jack's usual gigantic red and grey four-winged wyvern appeared; it has glowing red feathers on its wings instead of white, glowing lines between its face scales, and a red glow bathing its whole body. "Next, I activate Force of the High Ruler!"

With the Trap Card appearing beside the dragon, the fake Jack saw it on the screen and cringed, knowing what was coming. "Since I Synchro Summoned a Level 8 or higher Dragon, my opponent cannot activate Spell or Trap Cards until their second Standby Phase! And then, I activate my Savior Demon Dragon's effect!"

"What?!" By this point in time the dragon, the size of a passenger jet, was flying so fast that it had to start doing lop-sided laps to keep with the Duel in the sky. Inside, Jack looked down from the fiery background, smiling because he knew this was over.

"Once per turn, I negate the effect of my opponent's Effect Monster until the End Phase; then, my monster absorbs the negated monster's ATK. Power Gain!" Roaring loudly, the dragon shot a beam of crimson flames from its mouth and struck the powered-up dragon, covering its entire body in flames for a split second before the power was revered and drained back into the giant dragon, which again roared loudly (ATK: 7300)!"

"That's impossible!" the fake yelled out. "7300 ATK?!" With that the robot leaned back in its seat and fell silent, and within the entity known as X thought to itself, _"The time has come to jettison this body while I still can."_ With a flash of black and red that went unnoticed X then jumped from the robot, leaving nothing but an empty shell of a robot with no AI.

"It's time to bring this duel to an end!" Jack yelled. "Savior Demon Dragon, attack that Red Daemon's Dragon! Ultimate Power Force!" Roaring, the monster brought its wings back to its sides and covered itself in red flames before diving and striking all three dragons with its jaws. The smaller dragons were shredded and thus exploded one by one; snarling as they did so, and then the dragon broke out of its stoop and began to climb with the fake Wheel of Fortune now in its mouth.

"Be gone, you shadow of imitation!" With a loud roar, the dragon finally brought its jaws shut upon the D-Wheel, crushing it and causing an explosion in its jaws that destroyed the robot and its Deck. Seconds later, the dragon opened its wings again and shed the flames, the dragon began to slow down and sink lower and lower, until it finally touched down as a field of energy and released Jack.

"Awesome job!" Yusei yelled out as the entire gang came to a stop, the Signers all regaining their respective marks. After they all parked, the new helicopter dropped down onto the roadway and two of the cameramen, as well as a reported, stepped out; but Judai and Kyojo quickly jumped from their vehicles and intercepted them.

"What do you think you're doing?" Judai asked them, his and Kyojo's arms crossed as the female reporter came up to him.

"Our camera got no good footage of the last move, so we wanted to get an interview with Jack instead," she explained. Judai's response to this was to grab the camera away from one of the men with one hand, using the other to remove the tape and drop it on the ground before crushing it under foot. "Hey!"

"There won't be an interview," the red-head said, clearly pissed. "Here's what you'll do; you'll take enough from that tape to prove Jack's innocence, and you'll show that and only that."

"Is that a threat?" she asked, getting an amused glare from Kyojo.

"No," he informed. "But if I know Judai here, he's dead serious." Judai himself continued to stare on at the reporter and her cameramen for a few seconds, until they got the message that he wasn't playing around.

"Fine," the female reporter finally said. "We'll exonerate Jack, but on one condition; that we get to do a story about those creatures – the dragon Jack summoned at the end, and the other one that looks like it."

"_She's seen the Saviors before,"_ Judai realized, _"I'd better do something about this."_ In a split second his eyes once again flash over into Yubel's, glowing and quickly lulling the cameramen and reporter into a trance-like state.

"Whoa," Kyojo blurted, impressed with Judai's trick. "I see you still make use of Yubel's powers whenever you can."

"Listen closely," Judai then said to his hypnotized flock. "The duel ended without a conclusion when the Jack imposter accidentally jumped the walls of the Bridge and crashed into the ocean. Jack never summoned a large dragon, and there have been no confirmed sightings of them either. Do you understand?"

Seconds passed before the hypnotized people finally gave a woozy and slow nod, at which time Judai snapped his fingers. In that flash of time, his eyes and the people he had used them on returned to normal. They then proceeded to turn around and head back to the helicopter, getting in and flying away without saying a word.

"Are you sure they won't do a story on you now?" Kyojo asked Judai, who simply turned to him and smiled in a cheeky way. Yubel's spirit then appeared beside him and informed him,

"_I erased their memories of Judai's mind trick. They have no idea anything happened besides the duel ending with the death of Jack's imposter."_

"That's some good work then," he said, shaking their hands before they all turned back to Jack and went over to him.

"Awesome job Jack," Carly said to him, though it was clear everyone was thinking the same thing as they all smiled to the man, who simply shrugged.

"One thing's for sure," Jack then said. 'I'll never miss being the King again." Turning over to Judai and Kyojo, he asked of them, "What did they say?"

"Nothing I couldn't fix," Judai responded, still smiling in that mischievous way.

"Yep, he did some good old-fashioned media silencing," Kyojo affirmed. "Those buzzards won't be airing the whole story; just enough to get the cops off your back."

"Why did you do that?" Jack asked. "Keeping our cover wouldn't have been blown by that story."

"The media has a tendency to distort the truth," Judai pointed out, getting an agreeing nod from Jack. "Besides, now Carly can have an exclusive for Us Duel."

"Really?" she asked ecstatically, practically jumping out of herself. Judai simply smiled, and so did Jack, but seconds later Crow lightly punched Judai in the shoulder and said,

"Damn it man, you need to stop hitting on other people's girlfriends." At the declaration of this the entire group burst out laughing.

* * *

"Then the project has once again hit a stumbling block," Placido deduced from the results of the duel. "X was unable to defeat Jack because of that link he has with his friends."

"As long as we target one of that group, we're simply hanging our project out to dry, as they say," Lucciano concurred. "The only other option…"

"Is to use the Signers themselves," Jose declared. This caught the interest of both, for this was not what Lucciano had been thinking, so he elaborated: "The Signers were the creator of Paradox, so it stands to reason they would have enough power to destroy him. We need to get the Signers to fight and defeat him."

"They don't trust us enough for that," Lucciano pointed out "Our hostility has most certainly earned their ire. What could we possibly do to inform them of the true nature of these things?"

"We show our hand," Placido stated, confusing both other members. He then proceeded to point up to the apex, where a viewing hole normally used back in its original days opened up, showing a bluish object streaming through the atmosphere. "Lucciano, I believe blue was your colour to obtain."

"Really?" the woman asked, partly amused and partly scheming. "Well, then I guess we'll have to go retrieve it."

"I think it might be even simpler than that," Jose stated. Seconds later, there was a loud and earth-shaking sound of an impact taking place, and a stone tablet with a glowing blue Infinity Symbol on it partly wedged itself through the rock that made up the ground. Realizing this, the three Infinity Members stood up and filed out of the Sky Temple, then up the elevator of Godwin's old mansion to the ground floor.

Stepping outside, they saw that this tablet had not landed far away from where the last one had; in fact, it was just meters from the lake where the first one landed. Lucciano then turned back to the others, who nodded, and so she took it as an instruction to proceed up to the tablet a bit fast than they did. She stopped only about arm's length from the tablet, if even that.

"You may touch it," Jose informed her. Nodding, she pressed her left hand to the tablet, and its reaction was to slowly increase the intensity and size of its glow. Suddenly the light erupted out from it, consuming the woman for all of a few seconds. When it was done, she turned around and revealed that the Infinity symbol on her left eye was now glowing blue, and that energy triggered the green glow of Placido's.

"Then almost all of Infinity's power has come to us," Placido said, bemused. "I apologize for your tablet having not yet arrived, Jose."

"I do not think it matters whose tablet comes to us in what order," was the eldest man's reply. "We now have the power to show the Signers that we mean business. Lucciano, summon your monster; let us see its form." With a nod, she strapped on a simple Neo Domino Duel Disc, made for left-handed people, and activated it, the glow creating five cards at the top of her Deck.

She quickly pulled these cards, slapping them all down onto the tray in the same effort, and this created an explosion of light from the tablet behind her. Its body was obliterated, but from the blue glow created a silhouette of a large, serpentine, winged machine emperor with a glowing red Infinity mark on it, making all three members of Infinity smile.

* * *

Back at the Bridge, hour after everyone had left, a sudden burst of black energy issued in Paradox, still covered by his cloak, to the spot where the fake Jack had been lifted off the ground and destroyed by the dragon. _"Such an interesting set of creatures, the Saviors,"_ Paradox thought. _"I would love to add them to my collection, but I'll settle for the next best thing..."_

Suddenly, the fabric of reality around him began to twist and bend, and the incidents which occurred earlier began to occur quickly and in reverse. He saw the media leave, Judai talking to them, the robot being crushed, and finally the attack being made just after X had left the shell.

Starting time again here, he rendered himself invisible and jumped onto the fake Wheel of Fortune. Unnoticed by anyone, just after the spark of X had left and just after he heard Jack yell, "It's time to bring this duel to an end," he grabbed one of the Red Daemon's Dragon cards and warped away from the scene, speeding up time to catch up to where it should have been the instant he got off.

Seconds later, with time at its proper place, he reappeared on the Bridge, alone, holding the Red Daemon's Dragon card in his hand. A black aura was then emitted from his hand, covering the card in black flames, which slowly changed the card from a Synchro monster to an effect monster with "Sin" written in English in its name. Its illustration changed pose, and many parts of its body – including its wings – were changed into black and light grey metal.

"Yet another monster to add to my collection," he said to himself, putting the card into his Deck and disappearing once again.

* * *

"Are you sure that the imposter was X?" Taiyou asked of Judai and the others when they returned, all of whom nodded.

"There's absolutely no doubt in my mind," was Judai's reply on behalf of the whole group. "He had the same mannerisms and the same distortion to his voice that X did."

"But wait," Crow stated. "I thought you destroyed him."

"Apparently not, or Placido built a new one," Yusei stated. "It seems too obvious though; he must have known we'd eventually figure out what was going on."

"Maybe that was the point," Aki stated, Luca finishing off the thought.

"If you're right about Placido being connected to this masked assailant, then perhaps the fake Jack was to draw him out somehow, or to lure him like a decoy to somewhere."

"You're right," Kyojo said, crossing his arms. "It's too convenient to be a huge coincidence."

"Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action," Taiyou quoted, confirming he believed the same thing. "We have the masked assailant, the fake Jack, and the meteor crash."

"What meteor crash?" Jack asked, none of the group who'd just returned being aware of this.

"There was a bluish-tinted meteor that entered the atmosphere a few hours ago and just recently crashed," he explained. "Didn't Wisel show up just shortly after a similar incident two weeks ago?"

"You're thinking Wisel is in fact from space then," Yusei realized, getting an affirmative reply. "Then this next one, it stands to reason, it too close to the other one in terms of landing site and time frame for it to be a coincidence; it has to be another of those things."

"Then… what do we do about this?" Luca asked, somebody finally posing the million-dollar question.

"I don't know…" Judai pondered. "But I think I want to talk to Yusuriha about this group specifically, not Yliaster. It's quite clear these three – Jose, Placido and Lucciano – all have some sort of agenda separate from the rest of the group; perhaps she might know what that is."

"You think you can get that information out of her?" Taiyou asked, Judai's response being to trigger his Yubel eyes.

"I can simply read the information from her mind if I wish to," he said. "But, before I can do anything Luca, I need to know… where did you and Lua hide her after we rescued her?"

**Card of the Week – Jack**

**Savior Demon Dragon **

**Type:** DARK

**Level**: 10

**Sub-Type(s):** [Dragon/Synchro/Effect]

**Effect:** "Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon" + "Red Daemon's Dragon" + 1 non-Tuner Monster

This card cannot be destroyed by the effects of Magic, Trap of Effect Monster cards. Once per turn, activate by selecting one Effect Monster your opponent controls. Until the Ed Phase, its effect is negated, and this card gains ATK equal to that monster's ATK. If this card attacks, Destroy all Defence Position monsters at the end of the Damage Step. During your End Phase, return this card to your Extra Deck and Special Summon 1 "Red Daemon's Dragon" from your Cemetery.

**ATK/** 4000

**DEF/** 3000

*Hurray! Now I can get the plot moving at a respectable pace! Review if you wish.*


	11. The Threat of Infinity

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 11 – The Threat of Infinity, Machine Emperor Skiel**

_In darkness of the night, a tall man who looked to he in his late twenties, who had green eyes and long blond hair, stood over the bed of a young child who was less than ten. Opposite him stood a man in long white robes, and both men held solemn looks on their faces while the child lay still, hardly breathing. He was swearing heavily and his skin was pale, his ribs showed through his chest, his eyelids were dark as bruises, and his breathing was shallow and laboured._

_Looking down upon the child, the blond man's eyes began to tear at their corners while he looked incredibly sad. "Is there any chance of recovery?" he then asked of the white-robed man in his low, deep voice, which was strained by the emotion._

_The robed man merely shook his head slowly. "The disease has already consumed much of his vital organs," he said, trying to sound as sympathetic and yet professional as possible. "The best we can do for him is to ease his pain."_

"_Daddy…" the boy said up to him, weakly, opening his eyes to reveal them jaundiced. "Daddy… I'm co cold…"_

"_It's okay son," he said down to the child, kneeling down so he could wrap his arms around him and comfort him. "It's okay… daddy will keep you warm…" As the blond man held his son, the man in the white robe came closer to him and pulled out a syringe of clear fluid, sticking the needle into the child's back and pushing in the fluid. The child was too weak to flinch from the injection, and his father was too sad to speak. His breathing slowing, the child re-closed his eyes and fell away, leaving his father crying slightly while the white-robed man walked around to him._

"_I'm so sorry for you," he said to the father, putting his hand on the man's shoulder to try and comfort him. "This disease has been a tragic occurrence for us all, my King. Your family's pain is shared by many of us."_

"_This pain," the blond man gritted out, his sadness starting to corrode into anger as he put his son back against the bed, standing up and facing the robed man. "This pain… we've brought it upon ourselves…"_

***

In the depths of darkness, beneath the ground, the slumped robed figure of Paradox lay against the wall, almost motionless, just before the three lines over each eye lit up in yellow. Standing up from his place against the stone wall of what appeared to be a tunnel, he stood up and slowly walked towards a small light in the next room.

Stepping into the old place, he saw an old, rotting wooden table with two sets of three candles on sticks sitting there, five chairs seated at the table that had begun to fall apart as well. Reaching his Left hand to his face, he gripped his mask and pulled it off his face, revealing his glowing golden eyes as they stared into a small drip-formed puddle of water.

"_These miserable humans,"_ he though to himself, turning and walking away from the table back in the direction he had come from, this time walking even farther into a room at the opposite end. There, he gazed upon an old rusted machine and its control panel; it resembled a drill-and-gear combination that sat idle against the old walls of the place.

* * *

"Do you think that Yusuriha will have valuable information?" Luca asked of Judai as they and Taiyou took an elevator to the top floor of her building, her brother still at the apartment.

"I'm betting that she will," he answered. "And even if she doesn't, maybe I can learn more about Placido, or even read some of the thoughts he's given her." Seconds later the elevator stopped and the door slid open, and so Judai, Taiyou and Luca stepped out into the apartment into the living room. "Lua!" Judai yelled out, causing the small green-haired young boy to step out into the room.

"Judai," he said softly. "Yusuriha's been wondering about you. She said she knows that you and Johan saved her, but she doesn't remember anything that happened earlier in the evening than that."

"My method doesn't require her to remember anything," Judai stated, flashing over his eyes into Yubel's. "Show me to her room." Turning around, Lua began to walk towards one of the guest bedrooms, so Judai and Luca followed him down the hallway and into the room; where the girl was sitting on the bed, dressed in street clothes.

"Judai," she realized, getting a smile out of the man while Yubel's spirit appeared and leaned against the doorway, arms crossed and a serious look on her face. "I take it you're here to speak to me about Placido."

"I don't expect you to say much," he answered. "But I do expect you'll have information for me to view. Lie back on the bed," he commanded, and in compliance she stretched back along the bed. "Now close your eyes."

"What are you doing?" Lua asked, being shushed by his sister almost right away.

"Now, I want you to think back to the last ting you recall Placido saying to you," he said softly, his eyes beginning to glow radiantly and Yusuriha to slowly convert to an even more relaxed state.

"He never said anything to me, besides dictating his moves," she said softly, almost without thought. "But his thoughts… that I was so useful, that Kaiba had been attacked by that guy…"

"That guy?" Taiyou asked. "Who is that guy?"

"He wears a mask…" she stated. "Paradox…" Suddenly, a sound outside of an explosion occurred that made everyone jump and Yusuriha snap out of her hypnotic trance. Through all the windows of the building, a bluish glow emanated from outside and lit up the darkness, a glowing red Infinity Symbol being at the top of it.

"_They've found us,"_ Yubel realized. Drawn by the light, Judai ran to the doors in the living room that led outside, prompting the others to run after him. When Judai stepped outside, the light died down and the floodlights that existed for the pool area turned on, revealing a figure standing on the surface of the water over a glowing blue Infinity Symbol.

"Who are you?" Judai asked of the figure, revealed as a woman about Judai's height or a little bit shorter. She was dressed in a black flowing gown with puffed shoulders, a lace collar and lace wristbands, a cummerbund covering her chest. The woman herself appeared to be about twenty-five, with piercing green eyes and strong red hair flowing freely over her eyes and behind her body. On her right arm was a round object, a kind of Duel Disc they had never seen before.

"My name is Lucciano," the woman stated, smiling slyly. "And I'm here for the girl, Yusuriha."

"You can't have her!" Judai barked, raising his Duel Disc and activating it.

"I have no quarrel with you, Yuki Judai," she stated, pointing at the girl. "But if you try to stop me from taking her back with me, then I make no promises."

"I'm not letting you touch her!" Lua yelled out, running to the edge of the pool and jumping onto the opposite edge of the glowing figure-eight. "You have to duel me to get to her!"

"No, Lua!" Judai yelled. "The power of those Infinity Monsters is too much! Let me deal with her!"

"You've already done more than enough for us Judai," Lua countered, actually surprising Judai with those words. "Judai, you've put yourself in harm's way more than your share of times, and I'm thankful for that. I'm taking responsibility this time!"

"It's too dangerous!" Taiyou yelled out, raising his own arm. "Listen Lucciano, I'll take you on, but leave the boy out of this!"

"The boy has made his choice," Lucciano stated callously, aggravating the two men.

"You're about to regret coming here!" Lua then yelled to her, pulling out his Deck and placing it into his active Duel Disc, making the auto-shuffler kick in. Lucciano's Duel Disc then activated by extending out 5 Monster slots around the perimeter of the Duel Disc body, then a rod that produced a five-foot light green energy tray for her Magic & Trap Cards.

"The kid has guts," Taiyou stated, getting a worried nod from Judai.

"DUEL!" Both players yelled as they drew 5 cards.

Lua: LP 4000

Lucciano: LP 4000

"I'll take the first turn," Lucciano stated, drawing a card. "I set 2 Spell of Trap Cards." Placing the two cards on the green tray, they then appeared over the surface of the water. "I also set 1 monster and end my turn." She then placed a monster onto one of the zones, causing its card to appear before her.

"Then it's my turn," Lua said, pulling a card. "I Summon Deformer Radicassen (ATK: 1200, LV: 4)!" In front of Lua emerged a red boom box from which parts folded out to create a short, squat robot with massive shoulder pads and a cage-like face. "I attack your set monster with Radicassen!" The monster the dove forward, punching the card and making it reveal a female figure dressed in robes and wearing a veil over her mouth, holding three crystal spheres.

"Fortune Teller of Crystal's Monster Effect," Lucciano stated, reaching for her Deck. "I pick up my top 2 cards, and I add one to my hand while placing the other on the bottom of my Deck." Pulling 2 cards, she chose one of them quickly and placed it into her hand, then slid the other one onto the bottom of her Deck's tray. Then, the figure exploded.

"Fine, but Radicassen can attack twice per Battle Phase!" Lua yelled. "Attack Lucciano directly!" Still in front on Lucciano, the robot struck Lucciano in the chest, causing her to look on at him with an expression of smugness.

"Trap Activate: Damage Interest! When my opponent inflicts Battle Damage to my Life Points via a direct attack, I double said damage and inflict that new amount to my opponent." From the face-up card a bean of energy shot out, going straight through Lua and making him scream out in pain while Lucciano looked on sadistically.

Lua: LP 1600

Lucciano: LP 2800

"You bitch!" Taiyou yelled at Lucciano, flipping her off. "How can you smile at yourself for harming a young child?!"

"He brought this harm upon himself," Lucciano pointed out.

"I… set 2 cards…" Lua stated, catching his breath as 2 set cards appeared before him. "I end my turn."

"Then I draw," Lucciano stated. "I summon Sky Core (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" In front of Lucciano emerged a blue egg-like metal object with red trim, which let off a light blue glow. "Next, I activate Torrential Tribute. When a monster is Summoned, Reverse Summoned or Special Summoned, I destroy all monsters on the field."

"You what?" Lua asked just before his robot exploded, forcing himself to cut his eyes. At that moment, the egg-like object began to glow brightly and it opened up, revealing several crystals set up in a strange array around a glass orb. The rest of the creature then disappeared, but the glass orb released a column of blue light. "What's going on?"

"When Sky Core is destroyed by a card effect," Lucciano explained, "I destroy all monsters I control and Special Summon, from my hand, Deck or Cemetery, Machine Emperor Skiel Infinity (ATK: 0, LV: 1), Skiel Top (ATK: 600, LV: 1), Skiel Attack (ATK: 1000, LV: 1), Skiel Guard (DEF: 300, LV: 1) and Skiel Carrier (ATK: 400, LV: 1)." AS she said this, all five cards slid out of her Deck and she held them up, placing them all on the tray in a single fluid motion.

Out of the light then emerged five creatures in quick succession. First was a blue orb of metal which resembled an owl's head, the Infinity Symbol forming the eyes. Next was a long blue object like the face of a hummingbird which was mounted on a jet. Third was a blue spider-like object with a flower-like face, and fourth was a beetle-like object with a dark grey abdomen. The final creature resembled the frame of a tennis racket, but with many struts along it. "Combine!" Lucciano then yelled.

Suddenly, the fifth creature separated and folded out into two very long, thin, jointed struts that attached to either side of the first orb, forming wings. The second creature then attached to the top of it, the jet forming a neck and the head folding to be independent of it. The third creature then mounted to the underside of the orb, folding up to form a cannon-like object, and the bug-like object folded out into a long tail and attached behind the cannon. Finally, the whole thing screeched and four eye-like lights formed on the face of the creature, showing it was now one entity (ATK: 2200, LV: 1).

"Machine Emperor Skiel," Lucciano commanded, pointing at Lua. "Direct attack!" The cannon then charged up a blue pulse and shot it at Lua, who immediately flipped a card.

"Trap Card Open: Guard Block! I negate the Battle Damage and draw a card!" Pulling a card from his Deck, the beam shot at Lua disappeared when it hit a certain point in midair, protecting him from the blast.

"I set 3 cards and end my turn," Lucciano said, sneering at Lua. "Now, show me if you can truly fight like you claim you can."

"Very well!" Lua yelled. "It's my turn. Draw!" Immediately flipping around the card he had pulled, Lua took it and the card he drew seconds earlier and said, "I activated Deformer Repair Unit! I send Deformer Scopen from my hand to my Cemetery, and I thus Special Summon Deformer Radicassen from my Cemetery (ATK: 1200, LV: 4)!" Placing the card in the Cemetery, Lua called back the robot and placed it in front of him, then pulled another card.

"I activated Junk BOX, and I Special Summon Scopen from my Cemetery (ATK: 800, LV: 3)!" From the Cemetery slot shot up a bean of light that released a table-top microscope, whose stand folded into a pair of legs and whose dials opened up to extend wire-like arms. "Next, using its effect, I Special Summon Deformer Mobaphon from my hand (ATK: 100, LV: 1)!"

Beside Lua emerged a yellow cell phone whose body folded out into the limbs and shoulder pads of its robotic form, and whose chest was formed with the numbers 1 to 6. "I activate Mobaphon's effect: a number between 1 and 6 is selected at random, and I pick up that many cards. Then, I Special Summon 1 Deformer among them. Dial On!" The numbers then began to light up and go out in sequence and at high speed, going through the whole rotation several times until it stopped at the number 4.

When it did, Lua picked up the top 4 cards of his Deck, and then picked out the second card and slapped it down onto the tray while he put the other cards randomly into his Deck. "I Special Summon Deformer Magnen-U (ATK: 800, LV: 3)!" Beside the yellow cell phone robot emerged a blue and red-tipped magnet that folded out into a robot with a long crest out the back of its head. "Finally, I Summon Deformer Radion (ATK: 1000, LV: 4)!"

At the final open slot, Lua called forth a purple hand-held radio that folded out into a robot using the headphones as a bolus. "I tune my Level 3 Scopen to my Level 1 Mobaphon and my Level 3 Magnen-U!" The microscope creature then changed into 3 white orbs that then became green rings, which the cell phone and magnet monsters jumped up into, turning into 1 and 3 white orbs respectively. "Docking strength with courage to protect world peace! Synchro Summon! Envoy of love and justice, Power Tool Dragon (ATK: 2300, LV: 7)!"

From the light emerged a huge, yellow, robotic dragon-like entity with a drill mounted to its right hand, a blue back-hoe bucket for a left hand, a shovel for a tail-tip and 4 jet-like wings. The whole creature let out a mechanical roar, and Lucciano smiled at the creature. "Once per turn, I pick 3 Equip Magic cards from my Deck and my opponent randomly picks 1 to put into my hand." 3 cards then slid out of his Deck and he held them up, revealing 3 copies of Double Tool D & C.

"It doesn't matter which one I pick then, does it?" Lucciano asked rhetorically, prompting Lua to smile while he slid two of the copes into his Deck and place the third one into the tray.

"I equip Double Tool D & C to my Power Tool Dragon, and since it's my turn he gains 1000 ATK (ATK: 3300)!" Suddenly, the drill on the dragon's right arm changed to a larger, mining drill as its power grew. "Also, it negates the effect of a monster it attacks. Finally, Radion's Attack Position effect gives my two Deformers 800 extra ATK (ATK: 2000) (ATK: 1800)."

"That's an impressive offence," Lucciano stated.

"Power Tool Dragon, attack Machine Emperor Skiel Infinity!"

"I don't think so," Lucciano stated as the dragon swung its right arm at the large blue robot. "Once per turn, Skiel Guard negates an attack against one of my Skiel monster!" All of a sudden the drill impacted into the Infinity symbol, but it did no damage and it repelled the monster.

"Then I attack Skiel Carrier with my Deformer Radicassen!" Lua decalred, his red robot jumping into the air to attack the wings.

"Trap Card Open: Cyber Repairer!" Lucciano stated, flipping a card. "My opponent draws 1 card, and this turn my Machine Sub-Type monsters cannot be destroyed by battle!"

"Fine!" Lua stated, snapping up his card. "You're still taking the Battle Damage!"

"I discard one card from my hand," Lucciano then countered, confusing Lua until a card flipped over, "and I activate Rainbow Life. This turn, my taken damage is converted into a recovery of Life Points!" The robot then struck the wing of the monster, but instead of losing Life Points Lucciano glowed in a rainbow aura while her Life Points rose.

Lua: LP 1600

Lucciano: LP 4400

"Then I set 1 card and end my turn," Lua stated. "With my turn over, Power Tool Dragon loses its 1000 ATK bonus (ATK: 2300). But, you may only attack the equipped monster; and if you battle the equipped monster, your monster is destroyed after Damage Calculation." The drill then changed into a red-framed buzz saw.

"Then I draw," Lucciano stated. "And I activate the effect of Machine Emperor Skiel Infinity!" From the Infinity Symbol six light blue glowing threads shot out and wrapped around the metal dragon causing it to disappear, much to everyone's chagrin. "Once per turn, I equip one Synchro Monster my opponent controls to Skiel, and have it gain that monster's ATK (ATK: 4500)."

"This can't be!" Lua yelled.

"Next I activate the Instant Magic, Limiter Removal!" Lucciano stated, taking the only card in her hand and placing it on the tray. "I double the ATK of Skiel (ATK: 9000)! But there's more; Skiel Infinity gains the ATK of all its components; after its own power doubles, it further gains the bonus of the component monsters (ATK: 11200)."

"No way!" Taiyou yelled out. "If he takes that hit, then Lua's finished."

"Finally, I activate Trap Stun!" Lucciano stated, flipping her last card. "Until the End Phase, I negate all the Trap Cards on the field for this turn!" Lightning then shot off the card and struck the two set cards before Lua, flipping them up and turning them to stone. "It's over! Skiel, attack Radicassen!"

"That's enough!" Judai yelled, running forwards and jumping in front of Lua between him and his monster. The cannon from the blue machine creature then fired off a shot and struck the robot, shattering it, and the beam continued on to strike Judai. Though he grunted out in pain, he stood firm and held his ground while the bean hit him for a full thirty seconds, only to collapse on his knees after it finished.

Lua: LP 0

Lucciano: LP 4400

"Judai!" Lua yelled up, shocked at the hit his older friend had just taken for him while the Solid Vision died down. Looking up to Lucciano, he started at her with a deathly glare before she jumped backwards onto the ledge of the pool. Then she snapped her fingers and the figure-eight disappeared, causing Lua and Judai to fall into the pool. In a split second Judai reacted and grabbed Lua under his arm, knowing neither of them could float long with their damage, and used Yubel's powers to thrust himself and Lua up and back to the opposite ledge of the pool.

"I won the duel," Lucciano stated flatly, stepping around the pool towards Yusuriha while Judai put Lua down and stood up straight. "That means the girl is mine."

"An agreement is an agreement," Yusuriha said sorrowfully, walking over to Lucciano. However, instead of submitting, Yusuriha proceeded to strike Lucciano across the face and run across the pool yard, jumping over the railing of the roof.

"Yusu-chan!" Taiyou yelled, knowing how high up they were.

"I guess we'll just have to find her now," Lucciano stated, turning to leave. Suddenly her body burst out into a blue aura of light that shone so brightly it temporarily blinded everyone. When they opened their eyes, she was gone.

"What do we do now?" Judai asked, holding his ribs from the pain of his attack.

"For starters, we get you some medical treatment," Luca stated, running inside to the medicine cabinet while Judai followed more slowly. Standing at the door to the pool, Yubel turned to Judai and stated,

"_I can find the girl."_ When everyone nodded, she disappeared in a warping fashion, and everyone turned back to Judai. The man then took off his red coat and pulled up his sleeveless black shirt, revealing severe bruising on the left side of his thin yet chiseled form.

"Oh my God!" Lua said, running towards him and grabbing his arm. "Judai, I'm so, so sorry! I didn't know…"

"It's alright Lua," Judai said as Luca handed him bandages, which he wrapped around his chest before putting his shirt back on. "We just have to hope Yubel finds Yusuriha."

***

In an alley behind some buildings, Yubel appeared right beside Yusuriha, who was standing off to one side watching two people who looked like they were about to duel. One of them was just some street punk, dressed in head-to-toe denim, but the other was a long-white-haired individual with a scalp to chin criminal marker on his right face wearing a trench coat.

"So, you think your Deck of Infernities can stop my Dragon Deck?" the punk asked, holding up a fist.

"I'm willing to bet some cheap rip-off of a Champion's Deck won't stand up to me," the other stated coldly. "The Death Gods call for you."

"_It's Kiryu,"_ Yubel observed, speaking to Yusuriha. _"You were meeting with him, weren't you?"_

"He's my boyfriend," the Summoner explained while the two duelists set up their Duel Discs and drew 5 cards.

Kiryu: LP 4000

Street Duelist: LP 4000

"I'll take the first turn," Kiryu stated in a monotone as he drew. Yubel was surprised by this; he was a far cry from the energetic Kiryu she knew. "I summon Infernity Necromancer (DEF: 2000, LV: 3)." In front of Kiryu emerged a skeletal figure in a purple robe that turned blue and took up a crouching position. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Then I draw!" the street duelist declared, pulling a card. "I Special Summon Vice Dragon (ATK: 1000, LV: 5)!" In front of the man emerged Jack's purple dinosaur-like dragon that growled at Kiryu; but it was quickly turned into a neon orb as he added, "I release Vice Dragon to Advance Summon Tiger Dragon (ATK: 2400, LV: 6)

From the neon orb emerged an orange-brown dragon with a striped body and a tuft of hair at its tail tip. However, before the Street Duelist could even mention its effect, Kiryu said, "I chain Reckless Greed and Full Burst. First, I send my 3 cards in my hand to the Cemetery to inflict 600 points of damage to your Life Points." Placing the card in his Cemetery, three rockets shot off the card and struck the street duelist, making him flinch.

Kiryu: LP 4000

Street Duelist: LP 3400

"Next, due to Reckless Greed, I draw 2 cards and skip 2 Draw Phases." Pulling 2 cards, Kiryu looked on in an almost indifferent satisfaction while a red talisman bearing the Greed kanji appeared atop his Deck.

"I activate Bonds of Kinsmen!" The Street Duelist yelled. "I pay 1000 Life Points and Special Summon 2 Dragon-Type Monsters from my Deck. Come: 2 Golem Dragons (DEF: 2000, LV: 4) (DEF: 2000, LV: 4)." On either side of the orange dragon appeared a blue dragon made up of large rocks that crouched and growled.

"I equip Power of Unity to Tiger Dragon, so my Tiger Dragon gains 800 ATK for each monster I control; that's 2400 extra ATK (ATK: 4800). Next, I equip it with Big Bang Shot, so my monster gains 400 ATK (ATK: 5200) and I inflict Penetration Damage. Go, Tiger Dragon! Attack Infernity Necromancer!" Growling, the dragon shot a fireball at the robed creature, destroying it and making Kiryu lose a lot of points.

Kiryu: LP 800

Street Duelist: LP 2400

"I set a card and end my turn," he stated.

"Then let me show you…" Kiryu stated. "The ultimate combo of the Infernity Deck. After I skip my Draw Phase, I activate One for One, and I discard Infernity Revenger to Special Summon Inferity Mirage from my Deck (ATK: 0, LV: 1)." Before Kiryu emerged a creature dressed in a styled robe, and then it disappeared in a warp. "By releasing this monster, I Special Summon Infernity Daemon (ATK: 1800, LV: 4) and Infernity Necromancer (ATK: 0, LV: 3) from my Cemetery."

In place of that creature emerged a tall, grey-skinned monster with 4 red eyes and many horns which was dressed in a blue robe, and the purple-robed monster from earlier. "When Infernity Daemon is Special Summoned and my hand is at 0, I add 1 Infernity card from my Deck to my hand. I choose the Permanent Magic, Infernity Gun, and I activate it." Beside Kiryu emerged a long orange barrel with spikes on it.

"What does that do?" the Street Duelist asked.

"Nothing, yet," Kiryu stated. "Due to Infernity Necromancer's effect, I Special Summon Infernity Revenger from my Cemetery (ATK: 0, LV: 1) when my hand is at 0." From his Cemetery emerged a cowboy-like figure with a painted white face like a jack-o-lantern. "I tune my Infernity Revenger to my Infernity Daemon and Necromancer."

Rising up into the air, the cowboy-scarecrow changed into a single white orb that changed into a green ring, moving over the two robed figures to change them into a vertical column of white orbs that changed into light. "The living and the dead," Kiryu chanted solemnly. "When they meet at 0, above the cage of Eternity, the demonic dragon comes out. Synchro Summon. Come forth, Infernity Death Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)."

Out of the light emerged a black, stout dragon with very ragged grey membrane on its wings; a dinosaur-like head with a nose horn, four yellow eyes and dreadlocks; four arms, two large pincer-like ones with two smaller claws; and thick legs and feet. The monster let out a guttural howl as it appeared, slightly scaring the Street Duelist.

"Next, I activate Infernity Gun's effect," Kiryu stated. "By sending it top the Cemetery, I Special Summon Infernity Daemon (ATK: 1800, LV: 4) and Infernity Necromancer (ATK: 0, LV: 3) from the Cemetery again." The cannon then shot out a blue orb and a purple orb before exploding, which changed back into the two robed figures. With that Kiryu pulled out another copy of the Spell Card and said, "I once again add Infernity Gun to my hand and activate it."

When the cannon appeared beside Kiryu again, he declared, "I once again use Infernity Necromancer's effect to revive Revenger (ATK: 0, LV: 1), and with it I Synchro Summon a second Infernity Death Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)." Once again the cowboy-scarecrow appeared beside Kiryu and changed into an orb, changing the two robed monsters into a column of light and releasing a second of the black dragon.

"Two Death Dragons?" the Street Duelist questioned.

"There's more," Kiryu stated. "I repeat the Cycle: I resurrect my two monsters, add Gun to my hand, activate it, resurrect Revenger, and Synchro Summon a third Death Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)." From the gun fired two more orbs, which quickly changed into a green rings with seven white orbs that became a column of light, forming yet a third copy of the dragon.

"This is incredible!" the Street Duelist stated.

"Finally," Kiryu stated, "with Gun, I resurrect Infernity Destroyer (ATK: 2300, LV: 6) and Infernity Beetle (ATK: 1200, LV: 2)." From the gun fired a purple-grey orb and a green one, which changed into two monsters. First was a tall purple-grey demon with patches of armour, horns and big yellow eyes; second was a black stag beetle with a green underside. "I tune my Level 2 Beetle to my Level 6 Destroyer."

"Hey, you're cheating!" the Street Duelist yelled. "You can only have 3 Death Dragons per Deck!"

"And I do," Kiryu stated. "But my two monsters meet the conditions for another of my Synchro Monsters." With that the beetle changed into 2 white orbs and then green rings, surrounding the demon and changing it into 6 white orbs that fused into a column of light. "When the Dark Curtain is pulled back," he then chanted somberly, "The eyes of the Underworld will open. Swoop down, Darkness. Synchro Summon. Appear now, One-Hundred Eye Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)."

From the light appeared several glowing orbs and the outline of a creature which quickly slashed out and dispelled them. The creature was a black dragon larger than the others, with purple eyes covering much of its body, a toothless mouth, massive claws and orange wings attached to its arms. All of the eyes on its body except for two then closed; the one on its face and that on its chest, which was also the only one to have a white sclera.

"_This is perhaps one of the most intricate and sophisticated combos I've ever seen,"_ Yubel stated. _"Kiryu has become a master of the Infernity Deck."_

"I activate One-Hundred Eye Dragon's effect," Kiryu stated, a card sliding out of his Duel Disc. "By excluding Infernity Necromancer from my Cemetery, I have this monster use its name and effect until the End Phase." On the centre eye of the monster appeared the image of the purple-robed skeleton monster, and then all the other eyes on its body reopened. "Using its effect, I resurrect Infernity Destroyer (ATK: 2300, LV: 6)."

Right beside the dragon then emerged the purple-grey dragon once again, and Kiryu declared, "I activate the effect of Death Dragon. Once per turn, if I hold no cards in my hand, I destroy a monster my opponent controls and inflict damage equal to half its ATK in return for giving up Death Dragon's attack for the turn. I select Tiger Dragon."

"Reverse Card Open: Emergency Rations!" the Street Duelist declared, flipping his only card. "I send my two Equip Magic Cards to the Cemetery, and I recover 2000 Life Points!" The two equip cards then disappeared, right before one of the four-eyed dragons shot a blast of energy from its jaws and exploded the orange dragon, destroying it and hitting the Street Duelist.

Kiryu: LP 800

Street Duelist: LP 3200

"I activate the effects of my other two dragons then," Kiryu stated. "I destroy your Golem Dragons and inflict a total of 400 points of damage to your Life Points." From the mouths of both the remaining dragons of that kind came blasts that struck the two rock dragons, making them explode and hitting the Street Duelists for a second and third time.

Kiryu: LP 800

Street Duelist: LP 2800

"Now, I attack your Life Points directly with One-Hundred Eye Dragon," Kiryu stated. "Infinity Sight Stream." Building up power in its jaws, the dragon shot a purple beam of energy right at the Street Duelist and created an explosion, knocking him back and to the ground.

Kiryu: LP 800

Street Duelist: LP 0

"_Excellent job Kiryu,"_ Yubel stated while the Solid Vision wore off and the man deactivated his Duel Disc. _"But I can detect your loss of hope and frustration."_

"What are you taking about?" Yusuriha asked as Kiryu turned and walked over to them. "He's the best duelist in the area now."

"_Indeed, but that's the problem with Kiryu's duel. Isn't that right?"_ When Kiryu looked on coldly and then nodded, Yusuriha looked on shocked and turned back to Yubel, who said, _"With that Deck Kiryu can win any duel in a few moves, but that's not very fulfilling, is it?"_

"No, it isn't," Kiryu replied. "Winning every duel without any effort is empty and without venture, making it fruitless. The pursuit of the duelist is to climb, to become more; if I'm at the top, there's nowhere to climb to."

"_I think that I know something you can devote your dueling skills to."_ The look on Yubel's face was one of self-pride and deep thought, and her words gave Kiryu an expression of intrigue; but before he could inquire, Yusuriha's head snapped to the side and she looked at Yubel with a death glare.

"I know exactly what you're going to tell him and I won't let you," the female Summoner swiftly stated. "I'm not getting him involved in this battle."

"What battle?" Kiryu asked, his melancholia lifting slightly and allowing curiosity to enter in. "I haven't heard about any battle since the Dark Signer way ended."

"_The new Director of Neo Domino and his two cohorts, Placido, Jose and Lucciano, are attempting to destroy us to complete some goal,"_ Yubel informed. _"They want to eliminate the Signers and their friends, including Judai."_

"Judai," Kiryu remembered. "Judai; I gave my life to bring him back from the Underworld before I died, and then he in turn delved into the darkness to pull my soul from oblivion."

"Then you're both even," Yusuriha stated, making Kiryu simply shake his head.

"No, we're not. I gave my life when it was going to waste otherwise, when I was dying anyway. He risked his life for me when he had so much to live for, out of sheer friendship and kindness. And then he introduced me to you, giving me a reason to live."

"_I don't expect you to put yourself in harm's way,"_ Yubel clarified, _"but your power makes you a valuable ally to have. Come; we shall discuss matters further among the group."_

With that the two others nodded, Yusuriha somewhat more reluctantly, and Yubel wrapped her wings around them. In a split second a bright orange glow consumed them and just as quickly disappeared, leaving nothing behind.

* * *

"Judai," Johan said, concerned for his friend who had just walked on. When the twins and Taiyou had told them of his injuries, the green-eyed man had naturally become worried for his best friend, as had the others.

"Don't worry; I've had worse injuries," Judai reminded him. This did not discourage Johan from stepping forward and hugging Judai, showing concern, but Judai then grunted and said, "Johan, please don't put pressure on my chest."

"Right, sorry." Stepping back, he fell in line with Aki, Yusei and Crow, while the others stood behind Judai.

"This proves two very crucial things," Yusei stated. "First, that the Infinity Series just got a new monster; and second, that they are capable of severe damage to people."

"If we want to defeat them," Taiyou stated, "then we need to unlock the remaining Savior monsters."

Suddenly, everybody's head turned them they saw a huge orange glow appear on the opposite end of the room. From that light emerged the forms of Yusuriha and Kiryu, and then the spiritual form of Yubel. Soon after that she disappeared and rejoined Judai's body, and the group began to ponder what they were doing here.

"Kiryu," Johan realized, looking at him with awe. "You look very different from last I saw you."

"I've been feeling very different," Kiryu stated, a feint and forced smile appearing on his face.

"Why are you here?" Yusei asked, looking slightly taken aback.

"Yubel talked him into joining the effort," Yusuriha said disdainfully. "Against my wishes."

"That's my choice to make," Kiryu reminded her. "I know you worry for me, but you need to remember that I need this."

"If you wish to join this fight," Judai stated, "you need to know a few things. First off, the Infinity series are Anti-Synchro Cards, which will make for an incredibly uphill battle. Second, our goal is to unlock the remaining two Savior Monsters out of the five."

"Then you've acquired the Fifth Dragon," Kiryu realized, causing Crow to nod.

"It has been changed into Blackfeather Dragon," he informed Kiryu. "But, I have yet to summon it, let alone its Savior form."

"When did Aki summon her Savior?"

"I used it in a duel against Yubel," Aki recalled. "She pushed me to my limits until I had no choice but to summon it, and even then I was unsuccessful in using it."

"You were successful in its use," Judai corrected her. "You lost the duel because Yubel had set up a powerful combo since the beginning of the duel, something you wouldn't have been able to stop."

"Then I guess all that's needed it some practice with them," Kiryu stated. "Perhaps that can be my purpose; I can help the Signers release the Saviors. That will be my new goal, my dear."

"I guess I can accept that," Yusuriha sighed.

"Just be warned," Taiyou stated. "The Saviors have far more power than most creatures, perhaps more than the three Phantom Gods."

"I wouldn't go that far," Judai countered, remembering his experiences with Ra and Osiris in duels. "But, I know for sure that these are creatures that only the Signers can control, unless there's some other factor."

"What do you mean?" Yusei asked.

"When I took your place against Darkness, I was able to summon Savior Star Dragon because the Crimson Dragon lent me its power to defeat him. I a sense, I was temporarily made a Signer."

"If they are creatures only the Signers may wield," Kiryu chimed in, hoping for the last word, "then I will push the Signers to that point and ready them for this fight." In reply, everyone nodded.

**Card of the Week – Kiryu**

**Infernity Mirage**

**Type:** DARK

**Level:** 1

**Sub-Types:** [Demon/Effect]

**Effect:** If your hand has 0 cards in it, activate by releasing this card. Special Summon 2 "Infernity" monsters from your Cemetery. This card cannot be Special Summoned from the Cemetery.

**ATK/** 0

**DEF/** 0

* Saviors Coming Soon. Review if you wish.*


	12. Ride the Wings of Truth!

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 12 – Ride the Wings of Truth! Take Flight, Black Feather Dragon**

At the dueling area Kiryu and Judai had constructed atop the roof of the Poppo Time building, Crow and Kiryu were in the midst of a duel with all the other Signers, Judai, Kyojo and Taiyou watching them. Standing opposite each other, Kiryu crossed his arms and smirked while Crow held his black jagged Duel Disc on one hand.

"I want to see it," Kiryu stated. "Show me your Signer Dragon."

"You got it!" Crow yelled as both players pulled on their Duel Discs and drew 5 cards. They both then yelled,

"DUEL!"

Crow: LP 4000

Kiryu: LP 4000

"I will take this first move," Kiryu stated. "I Draw, and I summon Infernity Guardian (DEF: 1700, LV: 4)." Directly in front of Kiryu emerged a burning shield-like monster with a skull at its centre and bronze sections. The monster then turned blue and laughed demonically. "I set 3 cards and end my turn."

"It's my turn," Crow stated, pulling his card. "Draw! I Special Summon Black Feather – Gust of the Adverse Winds (ATK: 900, LV: 2)!" Slapping his card onto the tray, he called forth a green parrot-like bird figure that squawked loudly, intriguing Kiryu as to how he had called it. "If I control no cards, I may Special Summon Gust from my hand."

"An impressive move," Kiryu stated, "but a far cry from a monster that can defeat my Guardian."

"I'm not done!" Crow then yelled. "I activate the Permanent Magic Black Whirlwind! When I summon a Black Feather monster, I add a Black Feather of less ATK to my hand. Come, Black Feather – Shura of the Azure Flame (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)!" Beside Crow's existing monster, a new human-like bird figure covered in mostly dark blue feathers and with very long limbs, which shrieked.

"Due to Black Whirlwind, I add Black Feather – Ghibli of the Hot Winds to my hand," Crow mentioned, pulling a card from his Deck before it automatically shuffled. "Battle! Shura, destroy Infernity Guardian!" Jumping forward, the blue-feathered monster swung at the shield with its right claw and cut straight through it, making it explode but not even cdausing Kiryu to flinch.

"It's too easy," Kiryu stated. "Trap Card: Infernity Reflector. When my Infernity is destroyed, I discard my entire hand to Special Summon said monster from the Cemetery and inflict 1000 damage to my opponent." Taking his hand and placing it into his Cemetery slot, Kiryu grabbed the card that slid back out and placed it on the tray, making the shattered monster reintegrate and the ground underneath Crow explode.

Crow: LP 3000

Kiryu: LP 4000

"Myabe, but I activate Shura's effect! When it destroys a monster by battle, I Special Summon a Black Feather from my Deck with less than 1500 ATK and with its effect negated. Come: Black Feather – Vayu of the Big Flag (ATK: 800, LV: 1)!" From a blue vortex then emerged a white sparrow-like figure wearing a black robe and sandals and with red plumage on its head.

"Normally," Crow stated, "Vayu cannot be used for a Synchro Summon; but since I negated its effect, that's no longer the case. Therefore, I Tune my Level 1 Vayu of the Big Flag to my Level 4 Shura of the Azure Flame and my Level 2 Gust of the Adverse Winds!" Rising up into the air, the sparrow-like creature changed into a green ring which the blue monster flew straight through, becoming 4 white orbs while the green monster arose and became 2.

"Darkened gales, become the wings which will soar to heavens! Synchro Summon! Black Feather – Armoured Wing (ATK: 2500, LV: 7)!" The six white orbs them became a column of light and released a large human-bird hybrid covered in black armour with blue gems and red trim; this included metal wings, a beak-like visor with a red gem for a face, and a metal tail. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Then I draw," Kiryu stated, looking at his card for all of half a second before stating, "I Special Summon Infernity Daemon (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)." Kiryu then called out his demonic creature in a blue robe, and then reached for his Deck. "Wh3en I draw Infernity daemon and my hand is at 0, I Special Summon this card and add 1 Infernity Card to my hand. I select Infernity Gun, and I activate it!"

Kiryu then placed a card into the tray that created his orange cannon with a spiked barrel. "By sending this card to the Cemetery, I Special Summon Infernity Destroyer (ATK: 2300, LV: 6) and Infernity Beetle (ATK: 1200, LV: 2) from my Cemetery." The cannon then fired a grey-purple orb and a green orb that created his beetle and his tall demon, right before Kiryu again reached for his Deck.

"By Releasing Infernity Beetle, I Special Summon 2 Infernity Beetles from my Deck (ATK: 1200, LV: 2) (ATK: 1200, LV: 2)." The beetle then exploded, causing its pieces to form into two piles and form 2 new beetles.

"Kiryu's Infernity Deck is certainly capable of summoning many monsters quickly," Taiyou observed. "Perhaps the fastest I've ever seen."

"I Tune my Level 2 Beetle to my Level 6 Destroyer," Kiryu stated, one of his beetles changing into 2 green rings to surround the tall demon and change it into 6 white orbs, then a pillar of light. "The living and the dead… when they meet at zero, above the cage of eternity, the demonic dragon comes out! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Infernity Death Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" From the light the emerged Kiryu's black dragon, which snarled at Crow as Kiryu smiled darkly.

"That dragon," Aki realized. "That creature could mean Crow's end."

"Once per turn," Kiryu stated, "if my hand is at 0, I skip his attack to destroy a monster my opponent controls and inflict to them damage equal to half its ATK!" Roaring, the dragon shot a fireball at the armoured monster, destroying it and forcing Crow to cover his eyes as the shockwave hit.

Crow: LP 1750

Kiryu: LP 4000

"Kiryu knows by now that Armoured Wing cannot be destroyed in battle," Jack stated, "and that Crow takes no damage from its battles. By using that dragon's effect, he's left Crow open for an attack."

"I attack Crow directly with Infernity Daemon!" Kiryu yelled, pointing at Crow while his monster created a glowing purple runic circle and shot it up to the ceiling, making a large red and black hand appear from it.

"I Special Summon Ghibli of the Hot Winds (DEF: 1600, LV: 3)!" Crow yelled, smacking his cad onto the tray and calling forth a black bird with 6 red-feathered wings which turned blue. "When my opponent declares a direct attack, I can Special Summon Ghibli from my hand."

"Its DEF is less than Daemon's attack," Kiryu stated. "My attack will crush it, but you'll survive this round as a result."

"My bird will live to fly another day," Crow countered. "Trap Card: Black Feather – Shield! I prevent my Black Feather being destroyed by battle and I draw 1 card!" Crow then pulled a card while the hand came down and closed around the bird, but then faded out and left it standing.

"Then I must end my turn," Kiryu stated. "This may be your last move, Crow. Make it count."

"He's right," Yusei observed. "Any attack will result in Crow losing at this point.

"Don't count Crow out yet," Judai stated, smiling lightly. "He's ready to come back."

"I sure am!" Crow yelled, smiling. "Draw! I summon Black Feather – Qal'at of the Moonlight (ATK: 1400, LV: 3)!" Crow then summoned forth a mostly brown-feathered bird who also had red and yellow face feathers, long legs and large eyes with no beak. "Due to Black Whirlwind, I add Black Feather – Breeze of the Gentle Winds to my hand!"

AS Crow held up the card, Judai saw what was coming and said, "Prepare for the beginning of the new era of Signer Dragons!"

"When I add Breeze to my hand with an effect," Crow stated, "I may Special Summon it (ATK: 1100, LV: 3)!" Slapping the card down, Crow called out an orange bird-like creature with large wings and a rather elegant body, which let out a graceful call. "And, this is a Tuner monster."

"Then you're summoning it?!" Yusuriha asked.

"The new Signer Dragon," Kyojo sneered, giving a thumbs-up.

"It's here," Taiyou topped up.

"I Tune my Level 3 Breeze of the Gentle Winds to my Level 3 Ghibli of the Hot Winds and my Level 3 Qal'at of the Moonlight!" Letting out a call, the blue bird became 3 white orbs that then became green rings. The two other monsters then flew up through them and became 3 white orbs each, the rings centering over them and forming another, larger column of light.

"Mighty dark winds of truth," Crow chanted, "become a dragon of true power and cast judgment upon the enemies of justice! Synchro Summon! Soar up, Blackfeather Dragon (ATK: 3200, LV: 9)!" Out of the light appeared a black aura surrounding a large monster, which was shattered and turned into idle black feathers when it flexed free.

The new monster was a tall, mostly-black dragon with an eagle-like head wearing an armoured mask, a longer neck, a feathered chest with orange scale underneath and along the stomach and tail's underside. Its arms ended in large claws, its feet were bird-like talons, and its forearms and shins were covered in manes of feathers. Its long wings had armour-like patches on their backs, and from its shoulders sprouted long struts with large metal feather-like blades.

"That… is a beautiful monster," Luca said as all of the Signers' Birthmarks lit up and the Summoners' marks – Taiyou's lightning bolts, Kyojo's flames and Yusuriha's waves – also lit up, reacting to the strongest and final dragon's descent.

"Magnificent," Aki agreed, the men too awestruck to speak.

"Such a powerful and might beast," Kiryu stated, smiling. "Shwo me its power."

"Very well!" Crow yelled. "Blackfeather Dragon, attack Infernity Daemon! Black Feather Flare!" Growling, the monster formed a ball of black flames in its mouth and shot them at the robed demon, destroying it and showering Kiryu in black flames. Silently he stood and lamented in his burning baptism, looking on with pleasure from the duel.

"_The final and strongest of the Five Dragons,"_ he thought. _"Such an honour to face it."_

Crow: LP 1750

Kiryu: LP 2600

"I set 1 card and end my turn," Crow stated, slamming the card down. "Let's see if you've still got the power, Kiryu."

"You know I do," Kiryu sneered. "It's my turn! I activate Infernity Gun!" Putting the card onto the tray, he conjured up another cannon. "Then I activate Infernity Death Dragon's effect…"

"…And I counter with Blackfeather Dragon's effect!" Crow countered, interrupting him while his dragon lit up its left wing in black flames and swung it, bathing the opposing dragon in black flames and destroying it.

"What's this?" Kiryu asked. "Infernity Death Dragon was destroyed, and Blackfeather Dragon lives?"

"When an opponent activates a destruction effect," Crow explained, "Blackfeather may negate and destroy that card by paying half of its own ATK and DEF (ATK: 1600, DEF: 1250)."

"That's certainly an effect worthy of a Signer Dragon, but I'm far from done," Kiryu stated. "I send Gun to the Cemetery to resurrect Infernity Death Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8) and Infernity Destroyer (ATK: 2300, LV: 6)!" The cannon then fired a black shot and a purple-grey shot and exploded, creating the dragon and the tall demon once again to face Crow. "I attack Blackfeather Dragon with Infernity Destroyer!"

"I don't think so!" Crow yelled as his dragon formed black flames over its right wing this time and swung it at the demon, creating a white glowing scar across itself. "When Blackfeather Dragon battles, I can halve the ATK and DEF of the opposing monster and skip Damage Calculation (ATK: 1150, DEF: 500)."

"Permanent Trap Activate!" Kiryu declared. "Infernity Lock! Any monster effect can only be activated once per turn. If an effect is activated again, the monster is destroyed and half its ATK is inflicted as damage to its controller. Therefore, you cannot stop my Death Dragon's attack."

"Maybe," Crow stated, pointing down, "but I still have 2 set cards face-down."

"Trap Card: Dust Tornado," Kiryu stated, pointing at a card. The card then produced a greyish-brown tornado that struck one of the set cards, revealing it as Holy Barrier – Mirror Force before shattering it."

"No!" Crow yelled, looking freaked out. "This is bad!"

"I attack with Infernity Death Dragon!" Roaring, the dragon began to build up flames in its mouth as Crow looked on in terror; but then his expression changed to a sneer and he said,

"Now for the real move! Instant Magic: Forbidden Chalice! I negate Blackfeather's effect until the End Phase, and give it 400 extra ATK (ATK: 3600)!" With that the card gave off a blue glow that soon surrounded the dragon, making it roar out while its power increased. "Counterattack, Blackfeather! Black Feather Flare!" Roaring, the dragon shot a blast of black flames at the demon, striking it and making it explode to send Kiryu flying back to the edge of the roof.

"Kiryu!" Crow yelled, terrified at what had just happened. Everyone watched in horror as Kiryu smacked back-first into the concrete and brick ledge of the roof, leaving him slumped against it while the roof section where the monster had been was left to smoulder.

Crow: LP 1750

Kiryu: LP 2500

"Kiryu!" Yusei yelled, he and Jack then running over to where their friend was while Crow simply stared at the card on his tray, horrified at the power and destructive capabilities it had shown. Neither Yusei's Stardust Dragon nor Jack's Red Daemon's Dragon had ever given such a blow to his knowledge, and Aki's Black Rose Dragon was commanded to inflict such damage.

When they got there, Yusei and Jack bent over to grab Kiryu under his arms and help him to his feet, where he leaned against the four-foot-high ledge behind him so his friends wouldn't have to. The look on Kiryu's face was one of disappointment and anger, which was perceived to be directed at Crow. Then, he turned and began to walk away, at which time Yusei and Jack moved over towards Crow.

"What in tarnation just happened?" Kyojo asked rhetorically. "I've never seen one of these dragons act in that way."

"Not under these circumstances I haven't," Taiyou affirmed. "Usually these dragons won't lash out like that unless they're commanded to, and I never saw any indication that Crow gave it that instruction. Even if he had, this dragon likely would have disregarded it."

"Then either the dragon itself is on a vicious rampage, which is highly unlikely…" his partner reciprocated, guessing what the other intended to add.

"Or somebody was interfering with the duel."

"What the hell was that?" Jack forcefully asked Crow, who simply looked back in frustrated awe.

"You honestly think I planned for that to happen?!" The orange-haired man snapped back. "Since when would I ever to that to my friend?"

"I don't think you did it on purpose," Yusei stated, acting far calmer than Jack, "but I do think that something went very wrong just now. Until we figure out what, we need to take measures to prevent such problems."

"I'm not using this card again until we figure it out," Crow decided, taking the card off the tray and causing the Solid Vision to deactivate; he then placed it back in his Extra Deck, and returned all of his cards to his Deck.

"Hey, Crow," Judai yelled over, causing Crow to turn his head while Judai reached for his Duel Disc. "I'm willing to help you test out Blackfeather properly."

"No, Judai!" Aki yelled, her and the other girls gasping at his declaration.

"Please Judai," Johan stated. "You're already injured. Don't get yourself killed before I get to – I mean, until you meet a woman for your companion."

"You underestimate me," Judai replied confidently, his eyes flashing over into Yubel's; but in reply even Taiyou shook hid head.

"You're one of our hard hitters," he stated. "We can't afford for you to be down and out." With that Judai's eyes returned to normal and Crow looked defeated and ashamed, looking down at his feet.

"I guess this creature is simply too wrathful," Crow deduced. "It doesn't want me as a user; it needs someone with more forceful tendencies."

"This will all work itself out, I promise," Yusei stated, putting his hand on Crow's shoulder. "In time the Dragon will temper and it will become usable."

"He's right Crow," Taiyou interjected, teleporting closer. "The dragon just needs time to adjust to its new form; for the soul of that dragon has never seen a duel before, so it doesn't know yet to use less force."

Then, Taiyou quickly flashed his hand over Yusei's Deck and pulled out the Savior Star Dragon card without Yusei having time to react, gaining a strange look from the man in reply. "For a contrast," Taiyou explained, "this is what happens if the dragon truly thought it needed a different host."

"What are you…?" Crow asked just as Taiyou integrated a Duel Disc and slapped the dragon card onto the tray. Within a split second blue electricity flowed from the card in hundreds of arcing streams over Taiyou's entire form, shocking him until his ectoplasmic form turned to mist and the card fell back to the ground. Seconds later, Taiyou's body recollected and reformed, and he added,

"If I wasn't already dead, I would be now."

Standing atop one of the nearby buildings, hidden in the shadow of the trees overhead, the cloaked form of Paradox stared on in amusement through his mask, having just seen the attempt at using the Signer Dragon. Seconds later, he dissolved into a cloud of black pixels, leaving no proof of his presence.

* * *

"The test of Skiel was successful," Lucciano informed her cohorts as she returned to the throne room, dressed once again in her Yliaster robes. "It proved far more powerful than the opposing cards."

"Perhaps," Jose stated, "but you did not duel a Signer, so we are still unsure if it can match the Saviors."

"I know already how to gage that," Placido said with a smile, getting the attention of the others. "Since X escaped destruction last time, he's still around for a final duel. His energy will be used up and he will be lost win or lose, but perhaps we can learn the true limits of the Saviors."

"What form would you have it use?" Jose inquired. "It has lost its Judai and Jack impressions."

"I think I'll save the energy used for an impersonation and simply reveal its true form," Placido answered, actually shocking the other two.

"This should be worth seeing," Lucciano then said with a malice grin, giggling darkly after saying it while the other two sneered.

***

At around 10 p.m. later that night, Crow was out on the roof of the building looking at the card of Blackfeather Dragon, lamenting the events of that day. _"I wonder if Yusei and Taiyou are right and the Dragon is just aggressive out of inexperience with duels,"_ he thought. _"That's what I hope; otherwise, I'm useless as a Signer."_

Suddenly, he heard the sound of a D-Wheel engine start up and rev below the back of the roof, and that made him run over to the edge while he put the card back into his Extra Deck slot. Looking down, he saw a Black D-Wheel idling there, with no rider, and that certainly confused him.

"What the hell is going on here?" he asked aloud, getting his answer from the sound of electrical crackling behind him. Spinning around instantly, he saw a field of black and red static electricity appear and condense into a flowing human-like form, with the sound of distorted laughing coming from the entity. The voice was none that he knew, but he did recognize the being.

"You… X!" he yelled, raising a fist as the form of the figure began to take shape. From it formed a black body-suit including all but the head with circuit board patterns over itself; and then the head condensed into a Riding helmet with visor, completely obscuring the face.

"So we meet again, Crow Hogan," the almost alien voice issued. "You and I have yet to be formally acquainted, but I gather you know who I am and why I am here."

"You bet I fucking know!" Crow yelled, pulling his Ground Deck out of the Duel Disc and pulling his Riding Deck from his other Pocket to place in the slot.

"Then we'll make it a Riding Duel," X inferred. "Very well; let us begin." In a haze of electricity X teleported onto the Black D-Wheel below, a Duel Tray built into the console, while Crow pressed a button on his Duel Disc. With that his D-Wheel, Blackbird, appeared out of the garage and he jumped down onto it, fitting his Duel Disc onto the dash to form a Riding Mode.

"Bring it on," Crow issued as both players pressed a button on their dash to pull up Speed World 2. When it activated, the field around them turned purple and an Infinity symbol briefly appeared around their Duel Discs, and then both D-Wheels shot forward as both players drew 5 cards.

"Riding Duel! Acceleration!" The both then yelled.

Crow: LP 4000

X: LP 4000

"I'll take the first turn," X declared, pulling a card. "And I choose to end my turn without playing any cards."

"What?" Crow asked incredulously. "Has your AI malfunctioned or something?"

"My AI is just fine," X replied. "I still end my turn."

"Alright, then it's my turn! Draw (Crow: 1 SPC/X: 1 SPC)." Placing his card in his hand, Crow then took another card from his hand and slapped it down. "I Summon Black Feather – Shura of the Azure Flame (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)!" S blue vortex emerged in front of Crow that produced the tall blue-feathered bird figure from earlier, which screeched at X loudly.

"I attack X directly!" Crow yelled, his blue monster shooting forward at massive speed and slashing X with its right claw, making the D-Wheel spark but not deterring X from his path. Just then, however, X placed a card onto the tray and produced a black, nay and red-clad warrior-like figure with a sword on his back, large amounts of red hair and a visor over its eyes. "What's this?"

Crow: LP 4000

X: LP 2200

"You're too naïve," X stated, its voice changing to Jack's altered voice for the sentence. "Because I received a direct attack with no cards on the field, I Special Summoned Envoy of Darkness – Gorz (ATK: 2700, LV: 7), and because I took Battle Damage I Special Summon a Envoy of Darkness – Kaien Token whose ATK and DEF are the received damage (ATK: 1800, LV: 7)."

"What!?" Crow had time to blurt out before the monster was joined by a similarly-dressed female figure wearing a veil and with long flowing red hair behind herself. Lookig angry at the result of his move, he took 2 cards and jammed them into the tray. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

As his two cards appeared and disappeared, X laughed and said, "If that is the best you can do, then I am disappointed. It's my turn. Draw (Crow: 2 SPC/X: 2 SPC). Magic Activate: Speed Spell – Angel Baton. Because I have 2 Speed Counters, I draw 2 cards and send 1 card from my hand to the Cemetery."

"I know what the card does," Crow countered as X pulled 2 cards from his deck, taking a card already in his hand and sending it to the Cemetery.

"I Summon dark Sprocketer (ATK: 400, LV: 1)." Out of a blue vortex emerged a black conical cog-like monster with a length of chain-like chord spiraled around itself and a gear-like head with eyes drawn on it. "Then, I tune my Level 1 Dark Sproketer to my Level 7 Kaien Token!"

"_Jack's Tuner and a Level 7 monster,"_ Crow noted. _"He's going for that monster again."_ As he thought, the gear-like creature spun until it changed into a green ring, sliding over the female figure to change her into a yellow outline containing 7 white orbs. The outline disappeared and the orbs remained to form a white column of light.

"The ruler's heartbeat will now file through here," X chanted, imitating Jack once again. "Take witness to its creation-shaking power! Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" Emerging from the light was one of the darkened versions of Jack's grey and red dragon that roared viciously, signaling its power to Crow.

"You bastard!" Crow yelled back at the entity. "How dare you use my friend's card like that?!"

"Red Daemon's Dragon, attack Shura of the Azure Flame," X commanded. "Absolute Power Force!" Roaring, the dragon formed a fireball over its fist and swung it into the blue bird, exploding it and showering Crow in flames to make him scream in pain.

Crow: LP 2800

X: LP 2200

"That pain…" Crow realized, breathing hard as the flames died away. "It's just like the other duels with him…"

"Gorz, direct attack the player!" X then commanded, making the warrior-like monster draw its sword and jump at Crow. In turn, the man pulled a card from his hand and placed it onto the tray, calling forth a black and red six-winged bird-like figure who took the sword slash and exploded, sparing Crow from harm.

"I Special Summoned Ghibli of the Hot Winds," Crow explained, "So I took no Battle Damage. Next, I Activate Recharged Damage, and I draw 1 card for each attack plus an additional one!" Looking down at his Deck, Crow picked up 3 cards and looked them over before placing them in his hand.

"You got off lucky this round," X stated, taking 3 cards from its and placing them onto the tray wile 3 cards appeared in front of, to the left of and to the right of him before disappearing. "But that will not happen again. I end my turn."

"Then I draw (Crow: 3 SPC/X: 3 SPC!" Crow yelled, reaching for a card the instant he pulled that one. "I also activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton! I draw 2 cards and I discard Black Feather – Vayu of the Big Flag!" Pulling his two cards in one shot, he took the one still clutched against his palm that he had just drawn and placed it into the Cemetery slot. He then took one of his cards and spun it around.

"Since I drew Breeze of the Gentle Winds, I Special Summon it (ATK: 1100, LV: 3)!" Crow then slapped down the card and once again called out his orange bird-like creature before spinning a card around. "I activate the Permanent Trap, Boosting Resurrection, so I Special Summon Ghibli the Hot Winds from my Cemetery with 100 more ATK and DEF and 1 more star (ATK: 100, LV: 4)!"

From his Cemetery slot appeared a light that once again produced the black and red six-winged bird with a cry, and then the two monsters fell into line as the orange one started to glow. "I Tune my Level 3 Breeze of the Gentle Winds to my now Level 4 Ghibli of the Hot Winds!" Screeching, the orange bird changed into 3 green rings to surround the other monster, changing it into 4 white orbs and then a horizontal column of light.

"Darkened gales, become the wings which will soar to heavens! Synchro Summon! Black Feather – Armoured Wing (ATK: 2500, LV: 7)." Out of the light then shot the armoured bird-like monster as Crow stared on in glee before taking 2 more cards from his hand. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Draw (Crow: 4 SPC/X: 4 SPC!" X declared, flipping a card the instant he did. "Trap Card: "If we Die, We Die Together"! When both players have 3 or more cards in their hands, they discard their entire hands and take 100 damage for each card lost before drawing 5 new cards."

Growling in anger, Crow inserted his hand into the Cemetery slot as X did the same and they both pulled 5 new cards, X sneering as he looked on at Crow.

Crow: LP 2500

X: LP 1900

"I Activate Speed Spell – Speed Fusion! When my Speed Counters are at 4 or more, I Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster with its materials. I Send E-HERO Edgeman and E-HERO Sparkman, and I Fusion Summon E-HERO Plasma Viceman (ATK: 2600, LV: 8)!" From the hand of the entity appeared the gold bladed warrior and the navy and gold warrior, who jumped up into the air and spun together.

Out of the spiral then emerged the partly gold and partly navy warrior with large arms and a bulky build, floating between the black-clad figure and the dragon. "By discarding 1 card from my hand, I destroy my opponent's Attack Position monster! Thus, I Discard Dark Resonator and I Destroy Armoured Wing!" Forming yellow electricity between its hands, the warrior jumped forward as X placed a card into the Cemetery slot while the warrior positioned his hands on either side of the monster and electrocuted it, causing it to explode.

"This is bad," Crow said under his breath as the monster returned to its place and he analyzed the situation; he had no monsters to his opponent's 3 monsters over 2500 ATK. But then, when he felt things couldn't get worse, X flipped a card that made Crow cringe.

"Trap Card: Revival Gift! I Special Summon Dark Resonator from my Cemetery without an effect (ATK: 1300, LV: 3), and Special Summon 2 Gift Tokens to my opponent's Field (DEF: 1500, LV: 3) (DEF: 1500, LV: 3)." Beside the entity's existing monsters emerged the raccoon-like demon creature while Crow's field gained two salamander-like cartooned creatures.

"_Oh no!"_ Crow realized with this latest move. _"He's going for another Synchro Summon!"_

"Permanent Trap: Boosting Resurrection!" X yelled, shocking Crow with the same card he had just used. "I Special Summon E-HERO Sparkman from the Cemetery with a Power-up (ATK: 1700, LV: 5)!" Out of the Cemetery slot emerged a light that spawned the gold and navy warrior with a battle cry, just before the demon struck the glass orb on its staff with its Tuning fork.

"I Tune my Level 3 Dark Resonator to my now Level 5 Sparkman!" The demon changed into 3 green rings in an instant, surrounding the warrior and changing it into 5 white orbs and then a pillar of light. "Synchro Summon! Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" Out of the light then tore out a second of the grey and red dragon with a guttural roar, creating a tremor for Crow's D-Wheel.

"Battle! Plasma Viceman, attack the Token! Plasma Shock!" Grunting, the warrior shot forward and placed its electrified arms around the token, exploding it and shocking Crow in one move. As Crow screamed, X explained, "When Plasma Viceman attacks a monster whose DEF is lower than its own ATK, it inflicts Penetration Damage equal to the difference!"

Crow: LP 1400

X: LP 1900

Just after the monster again returned it its post, the entity declared, "I destroy the second Token with Gorz!" Then, drawing its sword again, the monster jumped forward and swung straight through the Token, shattering it in a split second and retreating to its spot.

"_I need for this next move to go right in order to survive this duel,"_ Crow realized. _"There's no telling what consequences losing will have in this duel."_

"Battle! I attack directly with Red daemon's Dragon! Absolute Power Force!" Roaring, the dragon formed a fireball in its hand and swung it forward at Crow, making him duck as the burning claw got closer and closer behind him.

A few meters back of the duel, they two competitors were unknowingly being pursued by Paradox, whose D-Wheel was long, white, had a pair of turbine engines on its rear sides and whose nose resembled the face of a dragon. _"That's it Crow, tap into the power of that dragon,"_ he thought. _"I need to know if that beast is a powerful enough addition to my collection..."_

* * *

"Where could Crow have gone?" Yusei asked of Jack, Judai and Kyojo, who were all riding their D-Wheels parallel to him. After Crow went missing, they turned on their GPS units and saw that his D-Wheel was engaged in a Riding Duel, but then the signal has disappeared.

"We should split up and try to look for him separately over town," Judai stated, getting a nod from the others right before they all shot off in separate directions.

* * *

"I thought you said the X unit had lost its files for Jack and Judai's Decks," Lucciano asked of Placido, with the trio watching the Riding Duel with their portal.

"I thought it had," Placido answered sincerely, "but apparently it made a master copy for a Deck using multiple Decks of cards."

"And it has combined them quite well," Jose stated. "Using Fusion Monsters and their effects to set up a Synchro Summon is one of the more difficult moves to pull off, but it almost always produces favourable results."

"Hold on for a second," Placido suddenly stated urgently, freezing the frame. When the other two looked at him, he pointed to an area about twenty meters back of the Duel and blew it up, revealing a black-robed figure in a mask riding a White D-Wheel.

"Well, well, well," Jose stated, intrigued. "It appears X's duel has pulled in more than just our honorary Signer."

"Why would Paradox be following the Riding Duel?" Lucciano asked of Placido. "Why doesn't he just travel to the end of it and take the card he wants?"

"Because the creation of Blackfeather Dragon changed the events of the future," he explained. "Paradox can travel back to the past because he is certain of what happened; but going to a future with an outcome he does not know would be fruitless."

"Interesting…"

"What interests you so much about that?"

"The fact that even for a Time-Traveler like Paradox, the future is uncertain," Lucciano replied. "It's almost Paradoxical in itself."

"Let us focus on the true topic at hand, shall we?" Jose interrupted, getting the attention of his younger cohorts. "Do we think Crow will be able to unlock a Savior Dragon?"

"It's doubtful," Lucciano replied. "He can barely grasp handling Blackfeather Dragon's power, let alone a monster as strong as a Savior."

"I get the feeling that outburst by the dragon wasn't anything Crow did, nor was it the dragon itself," Placido countered, producing an image of the duel between Kiryu and Crow. Pointing to a nearby rooftop, he zoomed in the image to reveal that at the moment the Dragon went berserk, Paradox was standing there with his eyes glowing through his mask.

"You mean that Paradox…" Lucciano started, Placido nodding even before she finished. "Why…?"

"Because he wants Crow to discard the dragon altogether," Jose explained. "I think Paradox wants it for his collection; after all, it's the only of the Signer Dragons for whom no Summoner Counterpart exists."

"If his target was the Five Dragons though, why did he bother with Blue-Eyes and Red-Eyes?" Lucciano then inquired. "How does that benefit him?"

"I don't know," Placido answered solemnly. "Paradox's twisted mind is too difficult to read one-hundred percent of the time."

"What is for certain," Jose said, "is that the Signer Dragon, Blackfeather, will soon be used to its proper potential – either by its Signer, or my its slave master."

"And I'm just dying to find out which," Placido stated.

* * *

Passing under an overpass, Judai made his way to the central area of the city in record time, only to notice something out of the corner of his eye on a higher roar. Noticing this, he quickly found a ramp and shot up 2 roadways to the lane where he had seen the action, turning onto it and following it. He then accelerated, closing the 50-metre gap between them down to 10 in a few seconds. Once there, he saw the setup.

"Yusei, Jack Kyojo," he then said into his headset, contacting the crew. "I've found Crow! He's in a Riding Duel on Tama Street, heading southwest."

"Riding Duel?" Jack inquired. "Riding Duel with whom?"

"I think it's X," the red-head replied. "Yes; it's definitely X. There's no doubt of that in my mind."

"I thought I destroyed him!"

"Then either this is a different one, or you didn't."

"We'll be there as soon as we can," Yusei finally cut in. "Just hold a tight formation with them."

"Copy that," Judai relied just before the line went dead. However, his focus was quickly taken up again when he looked forward and saw the red and grey dragon raise its burning fist to swing at Crow, making him gasp as he saw what was about to happen.

"CROW!" he yelled out, just before the burning fist made contact with the D-Wheel and an explosion rang out. A huge fireball formed and changed into a smoke ball, which Judai quickly rode through in pursuit of X, seeing no traces of Crow anywhere…

**Card of the Week – Crow**

**Blackfeather Dragon**

**Type:** EARTH

**Level:** 9

**Sub-Types:** [Dragon/Synchro/Effect]

**Effect:** 1 Tuner + 2 or more non-Tuner Monsters

Once per turn, when your opponent activates a card effect which would destroy this card, activate by halving this card's ATK and DEF. Negate that card's effect and destroy that card. When this card battles with an opponent's monster, you can skip Damage Calculation and halve the ATK and DEF of that opponent's monster.

**ATK/** 3200

**DEF/** 2500

**NOTE:** The card is clearly not the same Blackfeather Dragon released in The Shining Darkness or featured in the anime.

*This duel will all come down to the play of a single card, I guarantee you. Review if you wish.*


	13. Battle of the Great Dragons!

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 13 – Battle of the Great Dragons! Blackfeather vs. Red Daemon's!**

"CROW!" Judai yelled out, just before the burning fist of X's Dragon made contact with Crow's D-Wheel and an explosion rang out. A huge fireball formed and changed into a smoke ball, which Judai quickly rode through in pursuit of X, seeing no traces of Crow anywhere.

"You bastard!" Judai yelled up to X, making the figure turn his head back to look at him. "You lashed out at my friend and you destroyed him for no reason! Now you pay!"

"You can have him when I'm fucking finished with him, Judai!" Crow's voice suddenly yelled out, as Crow emerged from the smoke and rocketed ahead of him to fall back into position for the duel, surprising the cybernetic entity.

"How did you survive that attack?" X then asked him, getting a check grin when a Trap Card beside Crow suddenly spun around and the image of his black armoured Synchro Monster appeared before him.

"I activated Feather Mirage," Crow explained. "This Trap Card lets me Special Summon 1 Black Feather monster from my Cemetery until the End Phase. I selected Black Feather – Armoured Wing (ATK: 2500, LV: 7); and as you know, his effect prevents him from being destroyed by battle or me taking battle damage."

"Until the End Phase, is it?" X then asked, sneering under his visor. "Well, then I won't waste my card on Plasma Viceman's effect (ATK: 2600, LV: 8). I set 1 card and end my turn."

"Then at the End Phase, Armoured Wing returns to the Cemetery," Crow stated, his monster fading out. "And now, it's my turn (Crow: 5 SPC/X: 5 SPC)!" Looking at his card for all of half a second, he slapped it down and said, "I Summon Black Feather – Blizzard of the North Pole (ATK: 1300, LV: 2)!" Shooting off the card, a white light transformed into a large gull-like bird with a big head complete with a black crown of feathers and a lining of black feathers on its wingtips.

"When this monster is Summoned successfully, I Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Black Feather Monster from my Cemetery. Come, Ghibli the Hot Wind (DEF: 1600, LV: 3)!" Right beside that bird then reappeared the one from earlier with black and red feathers and six wings. "Next, I Special Summon Black Feather – Blast of the Black Lance (ATK: 1700, LV: 4)!"

A blue vortex appeared that released a tall, human-like bird with red feathers on its head, a long beak, long arms and legs with yellow feathers, blue-feathered wings and a black drill-like lance with 3 small wings on the handle. "If I control a Black Feather, I may Special Summon this card from my hand."

"Nine stars among three monsters," Judai reasoned, smiling. "He's trying again."

"Last time, this next creature hurt one of my closest friends," Crow explained. "However, I don't give a fuck about hurting you! I tune my Level 2 Blizzard of the North Pole to my Level 3 Ghibli of the Hot Winds and Level 4 Blast of the Black Lance!" The white bird then changed into two white orbs that became green rings, one heading over to each monster.

As the rings reached their target, they changed the bird-creatures into yellow outlines of themselves. Inside these outlines, 3 and 4 white orbs appeared respectively; and then the outlines disappeared and the green rings moved back together. The white orbs then followed, the seven of them living up vertically and changing into a column of light.

"Mighty dark winds of truth," Crow chanted, "become a dragon of true power and cast judgment upon the enemies of justice! Synchro Summon! Soar up, Blackfeather Dragon (ATK: 3200, LV: 9)!" From the light then emerged a storm of black feathers around the gigantic black, grey and orange dragon from earlier, flapping its wings and making an eagle-like cry at the dragons behind it.

"Impossible!" X yelled out s Crow' Signer mark lit up and shone through his glove. "He summoned that dragon?!"

"Battle!" Crow then yelled, pointing at the black-clad sword-carrying warrior in front of X as he did so. "Blackfeather Dragon, attack Envoy of Darkness – Gorz (ATK: 2700, LV: 7)! Black Feather Flare!" The dragon then quickly formed a ball of energy in its mouth and proceeded to shoot black flames at the warrior, incinerating him and making the energy strike X. His form became blurry for a few seconds while the damage was tallied up.

Crow: LP 1400

X: LP 1400

"The Life Points are all squared up," Judai realized pleasantly just as the D-Wheels of Jack, Kyojo and Yusei pulled up parallel with him. All of them then gained the same look of total optimism when they saw the dragon and the scores, Kyojo even taking his hands off the controls to give Crow two thumbs up.

"Nice shootin' Tex!" he yelled up to Crow just as everyone's marks lit up to coincide with Crow's, who took the comment well. "You're in the home stretch if you can hold your ground with that dragon!"

"Then hold it I shall!" Crow yelled. "I end my turn!"

"You think your dragon makes a difference?!" X then yelled at Crow and the others, getting their attention and wiping the smiles from their faces. "That monster will not save you from the power of Infinity! It's my turn (Crow: 6 SPC/ X: 6 SPC)!" Pulling his card way back, he then placed it in the Cemetery.

"I activate the effect of Plasma Viceman!" X then declared, his warrior building up the electricity and shooting forward at the dragon. However, before it could hit its target, the dragon bathed its left wing in black flames and swung them at the warrior in a single blade-like strike, splitting it in half and making each piece explode.

"Nice try," Crow said, "but one in one turn Blackfeather Dragon can halve its ATK and DEF (ATK: 1600, DEF: 1250) to negate and destroy and card whose effect tries to destroy it!"

"A good trick," X stated, noting that he now only had his dragons. "But far from foolproof. Trap Card: Power Conduct! When a Fusion Monster is destroyed, I draw 2 cards!" Pulling 2 cards from his Deck, X then pointed at Crow's monster and said, "Battle! Red Daemon's (ATK: 3000, LV: 8), destroy Blackfeather Dragon!"

Roaring, one of the two dragons built up a fireball in its hand and swung the arm at the opposing dragon. Who in turn shot a blast of black flames off its right wing and struck the smaller beast, making it lose its fireball and knocking it back to its side of the field. "What's this? Blackfeather Dragon has another effect?!"

"Fucking A it does," Crow replied. "This dragon can skip Damage Calculation when it battles and just halve the ATK and DEF of the opposing monster (ATK: 1500, DEF: 1000). On other words, your Dragon is less powerful than mine now."

"Your monster is proving to be rather annoying," X deduced, the dragon that had just fought growling weakly while a glowing white scar across its chest became rather apparent. "I end my Battle Phase while one of my Red Daemon's Dragons still has its Original ATK (ATK: 3000). I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Draw (Crow: 7 SPC/X: 7 SPC)!" Crow declared, his Cemetery lighting up. "I activate the effect of Vayu of the Big Flag: I exclude it and one Black Feather non-Tuner monster to Special Summon 1 Black Feather Synchro Monster whose Level is the sum of theirs."

"You do what?" X asked as two cards slid out from Crow's Cemetery; the Monster called by name, and one that everyone could see had a white border. Beside Crow then appeared the spirit form of the black armoured monster as well as a staff-like glowing red rune, which the monster flew into.

"Prepare to meet Black Feather – Lone Silver Wind (ATK: 2800, LV: 8)!" Flying through the red ring, the black monster instantly changed into a vertical column of seven white orbs that burst out into light, revealing instantly a tall thin form with wings. Shooting out from the light, the figure revealed itself as black-clad humanoid wearing dull yellow winged boots, white gloves with similar armbands and what carried a long curved sword. Its wings were composed of grey feathers, and its human face was hidden by a large dummy head of a black-feathered bird with reed eyes.

"Of course, Silver Wind doesn't get his effect," Crow stated cheekily, "but he'll do for points in this situation. Go, Black Feather – Lone Silver Wind, attack the weakened Red Daemon's Dragon! Black Winged Saber!" Jumping up and forward, the feathery monster was in perfect position to swing down upon the dragon when X responded with a Trap Card.

"Nice try, but I activate Synchro Reflect! I negate the attack and destroy a monster you control! And since I know you can negate this effect if I choose Blackfeather Dragon, I choose Lone Silver Wind!"

"That's exactly what I thought you'd do!" Crow yelled, waving his hand to make his set Trap Card emerge. "I activate Black Feather – Anchor! BY releasing a Black Feather, I give one Synchro Monster ATK equal to that of the Released monster until the End Phase! I Release Silver Wind and give his power to Blackfeather Dragon!"

With a battle cry, the warrior turned into a glowing black piece of energy and then shattered into thousands of feathers, which made their way to the dragon and were absorbed into it (ATK: 4400). AS the dragon assimilated these feathers, it gained a black aura and it growled while the Trap Card, having no target, shattered.

"He's got this one in the bag," Kyojo realized. "With that Tarp Card's effect and Synchro Reflect put out to pasture, he's ready to deliver the final blow!"

"Go, Blackfeather Dragon, attack the weakened Red Daemon's Dragon! Black Feather Flare!" The dragon the quickly built up a flare of black feathery energy and shot it at the red and grey dragon, striking it dead on and making it explode. However, X was ready with his other set card.

"Trap Card: Guard Block! I take no Battle Damage, and I draw one card from my Deck!" With that X pulled a card and a barrier formed around him, meaning the black flames never touched him.

"Damn," Jack cursed under his breath. "That was the perfect chance to wipe out X's Life Points."

"Don't worry," Judai stated. "With Blackfeather Dragon out, Crow is in a pretty good position."

"Yes," Yusei pointed out, "but X can change this around at any point. I have no doubt Crow will be in for some real problems by the end of this."

"I set 2 cards and end my turn," Crow said, looking confident. "The effect of Black Feather – Anchor then disappears and my Dragon loses its bonus (ATK: 1600), but I'm not too concerned."

"You should be!" X yelled. "Because this duel is about to go up a Level! It's my turn (Crow: 8 SPC/X: 8 SPC)! I activate Speed Spell – Energy Force! Because I have 8 Speed Counters, we both draw 3 cards!" Both duelists then reached for their decks and pulled 3 cards each in unison, with X then looking at his cards and sneered. "I activate Speed Spell – Power Baton! Because I have at least 6 SPC, I send 1 monster from my Deck to my Cemetery and have 1 monster I control gain its ATK."

"But you skip your next Draw Phase for that effect," Crow pointed out. "That makes no sense. Why would you bother?"

"Because the monster I'm sending to the Cemetery is Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon!" With everyone looking on in shocked horror, he produced the card from his Deck and inserted it into the Cemetery slot; the he took out another card and slapped it down. "I summon Jinhua Cat (ATK: 400, LV: 1)!"

"What the hell is this?" Jack asked. "How did he know I used that move?"

"I doubt it did," Yusei responded. "It simply seemed like a logical move." Beside the dragon in front of X then emerged a black blobby creature which everyone recognized as X explained,

"When Jinhua Cat is Summoned Successfully, I Special Summon 1 Level 1 monster from my Cemetery. Appear now: Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" The blob then released light that changed into the form of the red teardrop-shaped dragon; then the blob itself morphed into a black duplicate of the creature.

"Prepare for the end! I tune my Level 1 Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon to my Level 8 Red Daemon's Dragon and my Level 1 Jinhua Cat!" X suddenly disappeared from his D-Wheel in a cloud of static just before all three of his monsters rose into the air, the red dragon increasing in size dramatically. As this occurred, a green ring formed at its core and the other two creatures rose into it, changing into outlines with 8 and 1 white orbs, respectively.

"Polished, lone light," X's voice chanted from up in the sky as the orbs all formed a straight line inside the rings and the body of the dragon burst out in light. "Become the true high ruler and illuminate the earth! Shine your light! Synchro Summon! Creation-shaking soul, Savior Demon Dragon (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!" From the light then emerged a much smaller version of Jack's ultimate dragon, with a darker colouration and a glowing Infinity symbol on its chest.

"What the hell is going on here?" Jack bellowed aloud as a storm of red electricity formed on the forehead of the creature, X's upper body materializing there. He appeared fused into the dragon and had a Duel Disc strapped to his left arm, but now his face was exposed; a face very much like that of Rex Godwin, but covered in the same circuit board pattern and coloured in red with black hair.

"I activate the effect of Savior Demon Dragon," X declared from atop the beast. "Once in one turn, I negate the effect of an opponent's monster and add its ATK to my own. Power Gain!" Roaring, the new four-winged dragon blasted its smaller rival with crimson flames, making it growl out in anger. "Your monster's power now returns to normal (ATK: 3200), so my Dragon gains 3200 ATK (ATK: 7200)!"

"This is very bad," Judai realized, pulling up even closer behind the auto-piloted empty D-Wheel. "He can't survive another hit. With Blackfeather's effect negated he can't stop the attack, and that Dragon cannot be destroyed by card effects either."

"Then he needs to think of something fast," Jack responded.

"Battle! I attack with Savior Demon Dragon!" In an instant the dragon let loose a torrential blast of crimson flames straight in the direction of the mostly black dragon, startling Crow as he tried to think of a solution. Suddenly, he had his answer.

"When my opponent selects a monster I control as an attack target," he yelled, holding up a monster card, "I can Special Summon Black Feather – Tempest of the Golden Shield in Attack Position (ATK: 100, LV: 1) and change it to the attack target!" Slapping down the card, he called forth a large crow-like bird with long golden wings and a section of golden armour all down its front.

The monster then crossed its wings and moved in front of the crimson flames, Crow adding, "Next I activate the Trap Card, Black Shield! My Back Feather is not destroyed by this battle, and I draw 1 card!"

"But even so," X yelled down as Crow pulled his card, "You still suffer the Battle Damage!"

"Not so," Crow explained, just as the flames slammed into the bird. "When Special Summoned in this way, once in one turn, I can make the Battle Damage from my opponent attacking this monster 0!"

"Alright!" Yusei yelled out after the flames dispersed. "He managed to salvage the duel!"

"You dare to trifle with the power of Infinity!" X yelled, clearly angry at Crow for his move.

"Your mockery of the Saviors is far worse of a crime," Crow yelled back. "The Signers are a symbol of the ultimate power that binds the Crimson Dragon and all the Signers together; no exceptions. Your cheap imitation of that Dragon is just further proof of the evil which is truly Infinity!"

"Let us see how that pans out, shall we?" X yelled, fading out into a cloud of static. A second later, he reappeared on his D-Wheel, minus the helmet, and he pulled 2 cards from his hand. "I set 2 cards and end my turn. During the End Phase, my Savior Demon Dragon reverts to its original form of Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)."

In a flash of light, the dragon roared out as it disappeared, the original dark grey and dark red dragon descending down to appear beside the D-Wheel. Turning back to his own Deck, Crow thought, _"I can't afford anymore of these near misses; if I can't win in this turn, I don't think I will."_

Reaching down, Crow grabbed the top card of his Deck and yelled back, "Hey X! If you want to see and experience the power of the Saviors first-hand, then be careful what you wish for! The union of the Signers I just spoke of: it will now appear! Come to me, Crimson Dragon's power, so I can eliminate this bastard!"

Glowing brightly, the marks of Jack and Yusei appeared off their arms, and elsewhere they could tell Luca and Aki's marks had also separated from them. On Crow's back then emerged the united Crimson Dragon's seal, and at that moment the top card of his Deck began to glow yellow.

"Draw (Crow: 9 SPC/X: 9 SPC)!" Crow yelled, snapping up the top card and holding it up to the sky before slapping it down onto the tray. "Appear now: Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" A burst of light then shot off the card and released the true version of the red teardrop-shaped dragon, rising up into the air instantly as with the other monsters.

"Now, I tune my Level 1 Savior Dragon to my Level 9 Blackfeather Dragon and my Level 1 Tempest of the Golden Shield!" The dragon then increased in size until it was as large as a commercial air liner, swallowing up the black dragon and the black and gold bird. The dragon then changed into 9 white orbs and the bird into one, all of them flying around wildly before forming a row of ten and the dragon burst out into light.

"Envoy and Master of the Divine Winds," Crow chanted, "Descend upon this earth to illuminate the darkness and destroy the apostles of darkness!" With that Crow burst out into a black aura as he and his D-Wheel disappeared in a burst of wind, and his voice continued from the sky, "Unleash the tempest! Synchro Summon! The winds of truth themselves, Savior Wing Dragon (ATK: 4100, LV: 11)!"

"Amazing!" Kyojo yelled up as the outlines of four black armoured wings covered in knife-like feathers broke through the light, followed by a long tail ending in a fan of the same feathers. With a regal cry, the entire wyvern burst through the light and revealed itself. The monster had almost its entire body covered in black armour, a wing-like pair of spikes jutting out from its hips just above the three-joined legs. Its face was identical to its smaller counterpart, but with a peacock-like train of black and orange feathers jutting out from it.

"Once in one turn," Crow yelled out from inside a black, feather-filled dimension within the dragon, "I negate the effect of an opponent's Effect Monster, and until the End Phase its ATK and DEF become 0!"

"What?!" X yelled as he realized the implications of that move.

"Wedge Burn!" With that the dragon formed a blade-like feather surrounded by black flames in its mouth and shot it at the smaller dragon, striking it in the chest and coating it in black flames (ATK: 0, DEF: 0).

"Why you…" X gritted aloud, secretly looking down at the cards before him. _"But it's no big loss; when I activate Holy Barrier – Mirror Force, I'll destroy that monster and send Crow's Life Points crashing to zero in my next turn."_

"I attack Red Daemon's Dragon with Savior Wing Dragon! Feather Storm Flare!" Roaring, the dragon kicked up a storm of black feathers around it that spiraled like a tornado before the dragon folded up its wings, shooting down towards the smaller monster.

"Trap Activate! Holy Barrier – Mirror Force!" X yelled, flipping one of his cards.

"That's exactly what I thought," Crow responded, taking a card from his hand and placing it into the Cemetery. "When Savior Wing Dragon attacks, by discarding 1 card, I negate all opposing card effects and send all cards they control to the Cemetery!"

"What?!" X then yelled out as three feather-like blades shot off the whirlwind, striking all three cards before X and making them all disappear. At that point, X attempted to escape by dissolving his form and warping, but Judai saw this and triggered Yubel's powers. "No, I can't move!" Looking back, he saw the spirit form of Yubel had him by the arms, her wings wrapped around him and preventing him from going anywhere.

"No you cannot!" Judai responded, Yubel's eyes now over his own. "I've locked you in for the ride this time. Sayonara, X!" All X could do was scream defiantly as Yubel disappeared a split second before the dragon's whirlwind form crashed into and flew over his D-Wheel, immediately taking off again as the vehicle spun out and crashed into a wall.

Crow: LP 1400

X: LP 0

Everyone then stopped and spun their D-Wheels around to see X stagger off his own vehicle, still screaming as his entire body arced and grew hazy. His screams further warped until his body finally broke apart, dissolving into particles of electricity which then ceased to exist. "He's gone," Yusei deduced. "For real this time."

Having stopped one-hundred meters back, Paradox looked up at the gigantic black dragon passing overhead and thought, _"It's show time!"_ He then swung a black card up into the air with his left hand, a black beam of energy shooting off of it and striking the dragon; but what came back down was a jolt of electricity from the monster, making Paradox grunt out in pain as the still-black card was knocked from his hand.

Hearing the sound, everyone turned and saw him there, glaring back at them. However, before anyone could react, Paradox lit up his eyes and blinded everyone, disappearing in the glare. When they opened their eyes, he was gone, and nobody could remember he had even been there.

A few meters away from where he had been, the dragon finally touched down on the road and changed into a blowing dome of feathers, being dispelled second later and revealing Crow there. The seal disappeared from his back and the marks returned to their owners, and then everyone shot over to where Crow was with smiles on their faces.

"Good job man!" Judai yelled out, jumping off his D-Wheel to high-five Crow.

"You managed to get rid of that creature for good," Jack stated. "But more importantly, you released the fourth Savior Dragon."

"And what's more," Yusei further added, "you successfully used Blackfeather Dragon and integrated it into your Deck effectively.

* * *

Back at the Poppo Time area roof, a look of awe suddenly came over Taiyou as he faded out, disappearing from the room. A bright flash of white light appeared and erased his surroundings, soon replacing them with the Dragon Temple in the Dominion of the Beasts.

"Has it come to pass?" he asked suddenly, noticing the spire that had originally held the Fifth Dragon had crumbled and a new one risen up in its place. Suddenly, he saw the entire thing burst out into a black glow and shoot a beam of black energy up to the sky, disappearing quickly to reveal a black spire with the outlines of the Blackfeather Dragon, and a larger, four-winged dragon, carved out in orange.

"Indeed it has," a familiar voice rang off to him, causing him to turn around. There, he saw the black and gold-clad form on Endymion, looking back at him with a solemn look on his face. "The new Signer has unlocked the Savior form of the new Dragon."

"That's excellent!" Taiyou said, ecstatic. "Then we just need to unlock the final Savior Dragon, Ancient Fairy Dragon's Ultimate form."

"Yes," Endymion said strongly, "but I fear Yliaster will now move more swiftly than ever, knowing that their enemy has grown even stronger. And you are part of that enemy."

"I can handle myself in battle," Taiyou answered to his master. "You of all beings should know that."

"Perhaps, but your real task is to help the Signers prepare. For that, you need a more challenging Deck than you have."

"So I see," was the man's reply as he pulled out the Deck from his Duel Disc and flung the cards everywhere, all of them disappearing after they all hit the floor of the temple. "Then I shall build a new Deck." With that a brand new compilation of 40 cards materialized into his hands one by one, which he then handed off to Endymion to inspect.

After quickly fanning through all 40 cards, he returned the Deck and declared, "I believe this will be sufficient for your task. Now return to them."

"Yes master," with that Taiyou crossed his right arm over his chest and bowed, the magician bowing in reply, and then Taiyou disappeared into the light again. When he reappeared on the roof, everyone was looking right at him.

"What the hell was that?" Aki then asked of him, looking on with the same interrogative stare as Johan, Kiryu, Yusuriha and the twins; to which Taiyou sneered and responded,

"The master sends his regards, for unlocking the fourth of the Savior Dragons." Everyone then gained a look of triumph and pleasure – they had known a Savior was unleashed, but they didn't know it was a new one. "That leaves only one Savior to unlock, Luca."

"I know," the young female Signer replied, in an almost embarrassed half-whisper. "I'm sorry that it's taken me this long to get the Savior unlocked; even Crow did so faster than me."

"Nonsense," was the Summoner Ghost's reply. "Your status as a child makes the others eager to step into the way of the enemy and protect you; that's why the master had me make a new Deck. It's my job to help you unlock it, for we know from Aki that any duel can unlock it with enough will."

"I'm afraid you little homework assignment will have to wait," a voice suddenly issued, making everyone turn to the south-facing wall. Suddenly appeared there, in a cloud of black and red electricity, the image of a duelist appeared with a Duel Disc strapped to his left arm.

"It's X," Johan realized. "That entity has returned; but how? It should have been destroyed by Crow by now."

"I'm guessing it's a separate piece of the same thing," Taiyou responded, his Duel Disc integrating onto his left hand. "X broke off a piece of itself as a sleeper cell; so meet the anti-Terrorist unit!" With that he raised his arm and the single blade folded out into three, producing Duel mode.

"So, you wish to take the challenge," the voice of X responded. "Very well; I shall make short work of you, spirit." With that his Duel Disc activated and its deck integrated, with both players then drawing 5 cards.

"Taiyou, what about the training?" Yusuriha then asked.

"Don't worry," he responded. "I won't take long."

"DUEL!" both players then yelled.

Taiyou: LP 4000

X: LP 4000

"I'll take this first move!" X declared, drawing a card and spinning it around. "I discard King of the Swamp and I activate its effect, and add 1 Fusion Spell Card to my hand." With that he placed the card into his Cemetery slot, and the card appeared in his hands for him to put with the others.

"Next, I activate Trade In. I discard 1 Level 8 monster, in this case Chaos Soldier, to draw 2 cards." X then proceeded to take the 2 mentioned cards and put them in the slot as well, pulling 2 new cards in doing so.

"_Discarding a Ritual Monster?" Taiyou questioned. "He's setting something up."_

"I activate the Magic Card, Dragon's Mirror. With that I exclude Fusion Material Monsters for a Dragon Sub-Type Fusion Monster from my field or Cemetery, and Fusion Summon said monster. I exclude Chaos Soldier and King of the Swamp, treating it as Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon."

Behind X arose a mirror, in which the reflections of the blue card and the orange card appeared and swirled together before the entire mirror surface lit up. "Now, I Fusion Summon Master of Dragon Knight (ATK: 5000, LV: 12)!" Turning into a column of light, the mirror released a massive white three-headed dragon with a segmented body, blue eyes for each of its three heads and a red 'M' on each one's forehead. Standing on the centre head, there appeared a blue and yellow-clad warrior with a red ponytail, a curved sword and an ornate shield, who held reins for the dragon.

"One of the two strongest monsters in the game," Aki realized. "This will certainly be an uphill battle."

"I activate Magical Economic Technique," X then added. "Thus, I pay no Life Points to activate any Spell Card. I activate Bonds of Kinsmen, and to it I chain Spell Retract. By activating this Instant Magic, I double the effect of a Normal Magic Card. Thus, I Special Summon 4 Level 4 Dragons from my Deck in Defence Position!"

"What?" Lua asked. "That's ridiculous!"

"I Special Summon 3 Axe Dragonutes [(DEF: 1200, LV: 4) x3] and Lance Lindwurm (DEF: 1200, LV: 4)!" In two of the slots to the left of the dragon appeared black and purple human-like dragons wielding axes; in the other two opposite, a third black creature was joined by a green dragon wielding a spear. All 4 then turned blue.

"There's more; I activate Angel's Gift." Pulling three cards from his Deck, X then took his Fusion and a monster card and placed then in a Cemetery slot before playing a card he had drawn. "I activate the Equip Magic, Raregold Armour, and I Equip it to Master of Dragon Knight." With that golden armour pieces appeared on the body of the warrior riding the dragon as X explained, "You may now only attack the equipped monster."

"This is getting worse and worse," Johan realized. "At this rate, Taiyou won't have any way to fight back next turn."

"There's more!" X declared, playing his last card. "Permanent magic: Dragons Contract. During each Standby Phase, I gain 200 Life Points for every Dragon I control. Thus, I end my turn."

"Is that all?" Taiyou asked sarcastically, seeming exasperated at the move. "Seriously, I'd like to take my turn now so I can get you the hell out of my way! Draw!"

Taiyou: LP 4000

X: LP 5000

"Well, would you look at that," Taiyou observed, looking at his cards. "I have no monsters in my opening hand."

"No monsters?" Kiryu questioned. "What kind of Deck is he running?"

"Behold," Taiyou stated, tapping his Duel Disc to make a fourth blade shoot out. "Field Magic: Magical City Endymion!" With that the field changed into the enchanted city with floating buildings and a tall tower at its centre, in front of which appeared the floating card. "Next I activate Spider's Thread, and I activate the Angel's Gift from your previous turn!"

Looking on at X, Taiyou picked up three cards and took two of them – his only monsters, Divine Magician Deity Endymion and Crusader of Endymion – and deposited them into the Cemetery. "Now my City gains 2 Magic Counters." Two glowing purple orbs then appeared in front of the card as Taiyou continued.

"Magic Activate: Instant Fusion! I pay 1000 Life Points and I Fusion Summon Flame Swordsman (ATK: 1800, LV: 5)!" Out of a swirling vortex then appeared a blue-robed swordsman with red head gear and a red sword whose blade bore the Kanji of 'Honoo', while Taiyou: LP fell.

Taiyou: LP 3000

X: LP 5000

"Magic Activate: Summoner's Technique! With this I add 1 Level 5 or higher Normal Monster, in this case Black Magician, from my Deck to my hand!" As the two new orbs lit up on the card, he took the monster from his Deck and showed it, then held up a card. "Then, I Fuse Black Magician and Flame Swordsman!"

Appearing beside the warrior emerged a magician with tan skin and white hair who wore crimson armour and carried a green staff; the two then spiraled together, and out emerged a black and red armoured warrior with a jagged shield and a red long sword. "Met Knight of Black Flames – Black Flare Knight (ATK: 2200, LV: 6)! Battle!"

"What are you doing?!" Lua yelled out as Taiyou's warrior jumped up into the air and slashed at the warrior atop the dragon, who in turn cleaved it in half and caused it to explode. However, contrary to what people would have thought, Taiyou's Life Points were untouched.

"How did your Life Points remain?" X asked, with Taiyou sneering in reply.

"You need to research you cards better," Taiyou explained. "When Black Flare Knight battles, my Battle Damage becomes 0; and when it is destroyed by battle and sent to the Cemetery, it returns as the Knight of Illusions – Mirage Knight (ATK: 2800, LV: 7)!" Where the knight had been then appeared a new warrior carrying a scythe and wearing yellow armour, including a shoulder pad much like his weapon and a long helm.

"Instant Magic!" Taiyou yelled. "Rush Recklessly! I add 700 ATK to my Mirage Knight (ATK: 3500)! Battle!"

"Your kamikaze strategy will prove ineffective against my real cards," X countered.

"Save the speech for Cyber Space," Taiyou explained, snapping out his last card. "Instant Magic: Battle by Two! Because your monster has twice the attack strength of mine, I double the ATK of Mirage Knight (ATK: 7000)!"

"Even so," X pointed out, "your move is a wash. Both monsters will be destroyed."

"Don't bet on it!" Taiyou yelled out. "I still have one last trick, courtesy of my Mirage Knight! Because it's battling an opponent's monster, it gains the original ATK of said monster (ATK: 12000)!"

"That can't be!" X yelled out as the knight dove into the air, swinging its scythe straight through the warrior vertically and slicing from its head straight down through it and the dragon. There was an explosion behind it as the scythe also carved through X, making him scream out right before he dissolved into particles of electricity, disappearing.

Taiyou: LP 3000

X: LP 0

"And that's the end of that whole fiasco," Taiyou concluded snidely, everyone smiling victoriously as the Solid Vision fell away.

* * *

"This is becoming a most irritating prospect," Placido deduced, looking down at both of X's halves being defeated. "The Signers have yet another Savior, X is gone, and the Summoner spirit has improved his Deck to help unlock the last one."

"Your plan has fallen flat, just as I felt it would," Jose criticized of Placido, making the younger man glare at him. "You've been far too headstrong and impatient during this whole endeavor, and as a result everything you tried fell flat."

"Maybe," Placido countered, "but I still have an ace in the hole." Snapping his fingers, three people in Yliaster robes with their hoods pulled up stepped into the room, taking down their hoods when they did. Among them were a man and woman with dirty blond hair and blue eyes, both wearing crystal earrings for their right ears that had Infinity symbols on them. The remaining one wore glasses and had brown hair and eyes, and looked far more solemn than the others.

"Who are these three?" Lucciano asked Placido, the man himself smiling and explaining,

"They are members of Yliaster whom I specially arranged for. I knew X would never be able to defeat any of our foes – he was merely a test, to draw out the true power that have. Now that we know, I can send in these three to do what he could not."

"What makes you think these three will be any more successful than X was?" Jose then asked, sounding stern.

"This time, we have three different players with different and powerful Decks that our foes have not seen – we have the element of surprise this time."

"If that is the case, then they should have no trouble defeating our foes," Jose concluded. With that the three Yliaster members nodded and turned around, stepping out in single file and leaving only the Infinity Trio in the room.

"What shall we do about Paradox?" Lucciano asked. "Is he no longer a priority to you, or is there something you know that you're not telling?"

"Paradox can wait," Placido countered. "Right now, he is a benign threat because he will be injured from his near miss with Savior Wing Dragon. He is a threat neither to us nor to the Signers, so we can move forward with our previous goal.

* * *

In Satellite's B.A.D., screams of terror and pain rang out as Duelists fell left and right, black flames consuming them and leaving them drained when they faded away. Standing in the centre of all the chaos, Paradox stood there in his mask and his real clothes. His trench coat had a white leg section with black trim and a black torso section with white trim, the sleeves giving out to grey fingerless gloves with metal arm bands just below the shoulder.

His shoulders had brass pads on them that held two long clothed streamers on them, light grey with black stripes. His pants were black, with black spiked rings at the knees and boots with white metal sections at the front. Laughing, Paradox looked at the handful of Dragons he held – Light and Darkness Dragon, Dark End Dragon, Light End Dragon, Armed Dragon LV 10 and Destruction Dragon – Gandora – as black flames consumed them and changed them into their Sin counterparts.

"_Soon I will have enough power in my collection to complete my plan,"_ he thought, sneering at the idea beneath his mask. _"And then, I well finally succeed at making this world as good as it deserves to be."_

With that Paradox reached up and took off his mask, revealing a long, hard-jawed face with no beard or moustache but some very unusual features. His right eyebrow was red, instead of gold like his left, and a section of it jutted out and into his hair while the other end wrapped around his eye and extended down onto his cheek, next to a sharp shape of makeup. Sections of his hair were purple instead of gold, two pieces of which even had yellow stripes, and two yellow locks shot off like ponytails and hung to his feet.

"_Who would have guessed that collecting Duel Energy would have been so easy? Had I known this was the best course of action, this would have been my starting point."_ Turning, Paradox then walked over to his D-Wheel and inserted the five cards into a compartment on the dashboard and he got on, putting his makes back on and starting up the vehicle. He then shot forward and off into the distance, riding for several miles at high speeds.

Very soon, Paradox found himself shooting straight towards the crater in the ground where the Old Momentum was and jumped the edge of it, falling into the pit for over a hundred feet and bouncing at the bottom due to the shocks of his vehicle. He then killed the ignition and got off, pulling the fives new dragons back out and holding them up to the generator, making a circuit pattern of orange light form along sections of the old reactor.

"Very soon," he finally said aloud, "my plan will come to pass. The time has come to erase this suffering world and start anew, and make up for the sins of my fellow humans. Damnation will claim this Earth no more…"

**Card of the Week – Crow **

**Savior Wing Dragon**

**Type:** EARTH

**Level:** 11

**Sub-Types:** [Dragon/Synchro/Effect]

**Effect:** "Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon" + "Blackfeather Dragon" + 1 non-Tuner Monster

Once per turn, activate by selecting 1 effect monster your opponent controls. Until the End Phase, its effect is negated and its ATK and DEF become 0. If your opponent activates the effect of a Magic card, Trap Card of Effect Monster when this card attacks, activate by discarding 1 card. Negate the effect of that card, and send all cards your opponent controls to the Cemetery. During your End Phase, return this card to the Extra Deck and Special Summon "Blackfeather Dragon" from your Cemetery.

**ATK/** 4100

**DEF/** 3500

*Another Savior Dragon has been revealed, meaning only one remains. Review if you wish.*


	14. Yliaster's New Threat!

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 14 – Yliaster's New Threat! A Challenge to the Signers**

The following morning, at around 5a.m., Judai, Yusei and Taiyou were standing up on the roof of the Poppo Time building, starting out at the city as they leaned against the walls with crossed arms. The duel the night before had given them much success, but the calm that followed – it simply didn't sit right.

"Perhaps Yliaster and the Infinity Trio have been planning for us to fall to X," Judai suggested, earning a quick and stern retort from Yusei.

"No, that's too easy. Placido would be smarter than to believe something like X would defeat us."

"Then what was its purpose?" Taiyou asked rhetorically and in a whisper. In his current spirit form, which he needed to revert to after the duel, he was invisible and silent to Yusei, but Judai still heard and saw him loud and clear. Thus, Judai repeated him to Yusei. "Are they… testing us?"

"That could be; but testing us for what?"

"Taiyou," Judai inquired, getting the spirit's attention. "You said the Saviors are the force which they want us not to unlock, right?" When the man nodded and Judai referred that to Yusei, he added, "Did they maybe… want to see if we even could?"

"Why would they need to know that?" Taiyou asked. "The Saviors are just evolved forms of the Signer Dragons…"

"…Which weren't at the Ancient Battle with the Earthbound Gods," Judai recalled. "The Saviors are fairly new, in fact; not even Taiyou knew of them prior to their summoning, did you?"

"Master Endymion told me of them after he checked the hall of records," he explained, "but I hadn't heard of them prior, no. They're not part of the Legend."

"Then we'd be the first Signers to summon them," Yusei realized, just as dawn began to break and light swept over the two humans' faces. "Placido would want to know if we could… but if even the original Signers didn't know of them, how does he?"

Without speaking, Judai pulled out a cell phone and pressed a button for the speed dial menu. In a second he said in English, "It's Judai. I need you to do some research on creatures known as the Savior Dragons, in relation to Mythology." After a split second pause he asked in Japanese, as though repeating a question, "Which kind?"

"Well, the Ancient Battle occurred 3000 B.C., so the people of the stars; but the Mythology they appear in is Inca," Yusei stated, which Judai repeated over the phone in English.

"How long do you think the research will take?" After a second of two he asked, in a very surprised tone, "That long?" Then, he said, in a resolved voice, "Well, call me if you learn anything. You keep it real too, Professor. Alright, Goodbye."

"Who was that?" Yusei inquired as Judai put the phone away. Turning back to him, Judai replied in Japanese,

"Professor Nicholas Carswell. He's a historian and mythologist, who lives in Canada." As both Taiyou and Yusei raised eyebrow he added, "I met him when I went to a museum in Ontario, while I was traveling abroad."

"And this Professor… Thomas, was it?" Taiyou questioned. When Judai nodded, he added, "He knows about the Signer legends?"

"He did a thesis on them a few years ago." After Judai told Taiyou this, he laughed a little bit, and the quibbled,

"If this guy were Japanese, it would have been too convenient."

"What's all the commotion about?" Aki's voice suddenly asked as the woman stepped up onto the roof, dressed in a long black flowing nightgown and satin slippers and walking over to Yusei, giving him a kiss.

"Judai may have found us a way to track the history of the Saviors a bit better," Taiyou informed her, knowing that unlike her boyfriend Aki could see and hear him.

"That's excellent," Aki said to Judai, stepping over o give him a quick kiss as well. Just the both Jack and Crow stepped up onto the roof as well, dressed in their street clothes, followed closely by Luca.

"All the Signers," Judai stated. Turning a confident check, he smiled and added, "And soon, all the Saviors."

* * *

Back in the B.A.D., Paradox was standing in the centre of a ring of Duelists, sneering below his mask while his eyes glowed through and black energy shot from his left hand into the bodies of five dragons around him.

The first was a large orange dragon with a beige underbelly and with a green gem on its forehead; when the black hit it, its wings and its upper jaw were changed to a black-and-white metal mask with striping features, a blue gem, and black lines where its eyes had been. "No! Tyrant Dragon!" He yelled out in concern as the dragon disappeared in a warp, the card turning into black energy and shooting onto Paradox's Duel Disc while the dragon reappeared behind him.

Second, a segmented golden metal dragon with fan-like wings and two-digit hands and feet, was struck by the darkness and its wings and face changed to black-and-white metal with white stripes, with a very similar pattern to the previous monster. It and its cards then warped to Paradox as the man yelled, "Kaiser Glider!"

Third to be changed was a blue dinosaur-like dragon with no wings but large yellow spines along its entire body; its face changed to black-and-white metal while its arms changed to white, its spikes becoming Cybernetic as it and its card joined Paradox. "My Tri-Horn Dragon!" the man yelled.

The fourth dragon to be corrupted appeared as a red segmented dragon with a large white horn on its head; its left right turned black and its left white, the wings becoming a mix and the horn grey. It and its card also warped over, making its use scream, "White-Horned Dragon!"

Lastly, an eagle-like purple-red dragon with a blue gem on its forehead, a long lizard tail below a feathered one, shoulder pads and a large body; its shoulders, face, neck and head changed to a mix of grey, white and black metal, and it joined Paradox in the final zone while the man yelled, "Horus!"

Sneering, Paradox snapped his fingers and laughed darkly while each dragon roared and shot a black fire stream at its original owner, making them all fly backwards and fall to the ground, the five monsters and the men disappearing into blackness as Paradox returned the all to the Deck. Turning, he took fifty steps over to the Old Momentum hole and jumped in, landing on his feet below.

Pulling 5 cards from his Deck, he held up the new 5 Dragons to the glowing Momentum, causing the glow to expand and light up the room. Looking down, he saw the previous five cards sitting at the top of the control panel, and when he put the new five with them the controls lit up as well. "Soon, very soon…" he whispered under his breath.

* * *

Back at the Poppo Time, Kiryu was sitting in an old dark room by himself, a hardened and bitter look on his face. He had not spoken to Crow since the day before, when the Black Feather incident knocked him back, and it was starting to put a damper on Crow's morale.

Suddenly, Kyojo stepped into the room, leather trench coat still on overtop of a dark red sleeveless shirt, black skinny jeans and a pair of black cowboy boots, and tapped Kiryu on the shoulder. "You still sulking over what happened yesterday?" the man asked in a somber tone, only for Kiryu to turn away with a jaded grunt.

"I have nothing to say to you, Summoner," was Kiryu's reply. "So you can take your pretentious attitude and its bad American accent, and shove it…" As he said this, Kyojo grabbed him by the collar, spinning him around and lifting up Kiryu to be at eye level with the Texan. A stunned look on his face, Kiryu simply looked back at Kyojo just as Yusei, Taiyou and Judai entered the room.

"Don't get pissy with me boy," Kyojo scathed. "You're getting all bent out of shape over an accidental incident during a duel with one of your best friends. You did far worse to Yusei as a Dark Signer, so drop it. And you know what? If you're gonna be a whiny bitch, I don't want you here. Understood?"

"You think you scare me?" Kiryu asked suddenly, smacking Kyojo across the face and knocking his sunglasses off to make him drop Kiryu. Kiryu then made a point of stepping on and crushing Kiryu's shades, and as such received a dark glare from the man's orange eyes. "Who the hell made you in charge around here, Yankee?"

"I'm getting fed up with your attitude, boy," Kiryu threatened, grabbing Kiryu by the throat and prompting Yusei and Judai to run forward to pry them apart. "Keep in mind I'm the Lead Summoner at this establishment…"

"That's debatable," Taiyou cut in, making Kyojo sag his head for a second before going on.

"Fine, I'm one of the Lead Summoners at this establishment, and it's our job to formulate the plan and help the Signers. You're doing nobody any favours by being a prick."

"I don't need to take this from you, fag," Kiryu snapped, turning to leave. "I didn't sign on to be your punching bag; I signed on to help my friends. But I don't intend to do that if all they're going to do is beat on me and insult me."

"Break it up you two," Judai issued, grabbing Kiryu by the wrists to try and make his point. "Neither one of you is being agreeable out of stupid spite."

"I didn't ask you, you stupid ginger," Kiryu spat, pulling his wrists away from Judai and slapping him upside the head. "Mind your own fucking business." With that Kiryu turned and stormed out of the room, then the building in a fit of rage, leaving the group standing there in a huff.

"Why do the ones with Tourette's always seem to find me?" Kyojo asked rhetorically, looking around and seeing a mess created by Kiryu's outburst.

"Let him go," Taiyou stated as Yusei turned to follow. "We don't need that kind of negativity when we have something to accomplish." Sighing, Yusei turned back to Judai and walked over to him, seeing that Kiryu's swing had split Judai's lip.

"Are you alright?" Yusei asked Judai, who put his red sleeve up to his mouth to catch the bleeding. "I'm sorry about Kiryu's behaviour; I would have thought that with how much Kiryu owed you he'd be more polite."

"Don't bother," Judai responded, taking his sleeve away from his lip. "I'm surprised you didn't slap me that hard after you found out Aki was my ex."

"Wait…" Taiyou stated, getting their attention. "You used to date… Oh my god…"

"Yeah, get over it," both Yusei and Judai said at once, just before Crow stepped into the room.

"Hey, Yusei," Crow said, getting the denim-clad duelist's attention before adding, "You wanna have a practice ride?"

"I guess," Yusei stated, Judai handing him a helmet from a shelf on the wall of the room. "Yeah, sure," he added, turning a happier cheek. "I guess we could both use the practice."

"Sounds like it's worth seeing," Judai said in a disappointed sigh, "but I'm staying here to help Luca practice."

"Well, that makes my job easier," Taiyou stated. "Alright, I'll stay here with you guys; Kyojo, you watch them."

"Sounds like a plan," the Texan stated, looking down at the floor. "Maybe afterwards I can buy a new pair of glasses."

***

At around 10a.m., Judai and Luca stood on the roof of the Poppo Time building, standing opposite each other while Taiyou, Johan and Aki stood to the side. "Are you ready for this?" Judai asked the girl, to which she nodded in reply while they both activated their Duel Discs and drew 5 cards.

"I'll take the first turn," he then added. "Draw!" However, as soon as he pulled his next card, a crackling sound echoed out and he fell onto his knees, then his face. Everybody then looked behind Judai to see a young dirty-blond woman with a crystal earring on a chain from her left ear.

Stepping on Judai's back, the woman stated, "sorry little man, but this one's mine."

"Who the hell are you?" was Taiyou's reply, clearly furious with the woman as everyone else was.

"My name is Reggie Mackenzie," she explained, sneering. "You can call me Mac. Now, you're probably wondering why I'm here." Without waiting for an answer from the others, who simply stared on, she picked up Judai and threw him to the side of the field.

"Judai!" Aki yelled right before she and Johan yelled over to the man, helping him to his feet while he still twitched from the shocking. They pulled barbs from his back which appeared to be from a tazer, and they took his aside while Mackenzie pulled out a Duel Disc.

"You see, I'm here to claim your Savior Dragon, Signer," she stated, staring at Luca. Placing her Deck into the Disc and pulling 5 cards, she issued, "That is, if you even want to see it unlocked."

Acting slightly offended by this, Luca responded, "I'll not lose Ancient Fairy's Ultimate form to you."

"Then let us begin," Mac issued, pulling a sixth card for her turn. "I activate the effect of Hecateris: by discarding this card, I add the Permanent Magic, Palace of the Gods – Valhalla, from my Deck to my hand, where I activate it." Placing the card down, the field changed to a Parthenon-like silver field with red curtains and a throne at its rear.

"An Angel Deck," Taiyou muttered, crossing his arms. "Luca will be having a tough time here."

"Once in one turn," Mac explained, holding up a card, "I can Special Summon 1 Angel from my hand if I control no monsters. Come: Goddess of Light – Tethys (ATK: 2400, LV: 5)!" Shining, the card created a tall, thin female clad in white and with two wings floating behind her back. "Next, I set 2 cards and end my turn."

Luca: LP 4000

Mac: LP 4000

"Draw!" Luca declared, snapping up her card. "I summon Rose Bird (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)!" Appearing in front of Luca, there appeared a mostly green plant-like bird whose wings included rose blooms, which took up a splayed position and screeched. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

* * *

Out on the roads of Neo Domino, pursued by Kyojo, Crow and Yusei continued their Riding Duel which they had begun mere moments ago. Crow's field included his armoured black monster (ATK: 2500, LV: 7) and another, dark purple winged monster with a shotgun-like weapon that also had a blade on the end. Yusei's field included his Shield Warrior (DEF: 1600, LV: 3), the large warrior holding a massive thin shield, as well as two set cards.

Yusei: LP 1700

Crow: LP 4000

"It's your turn Yusei," Crow yelled back, his hand containing two cards. "But good luck getting past Armoured Wing and Arms Wing (ATK: 2300, LV: 6)."

"You know I can do that," Yusei said, Kyojo tagging silently behind him. "It's my turn Draw (Yusei: 6 SPC/Crow: 6 SPC)!" he yelled, picking up a card and grabbing it along with one of the three cards already in his hand. "Speed Spell – Angel Baton! I draw 2 cards and discard 1 card." Picking up his two cards quickly, he saw one and placed it into the Cemetery before holding up a familiar card.

"You're activating a second Speed Spell – Angel Baton?" Crow questioned, surprised at such a move. "Bad hand?"

"On the contrary," Yusei corrected, pulling two new cards and discarding yet another one. "Come, Junk Synchron (ATK: 1300, LV: 3)!" From a blue vortex emerged Yusei's orange mechanical warrior with an engine on its back, a scarf around its neck and a pull chord located at its waist. "Due to this monster's effect, I Special Summon 1 Level two or lower monster from my Cemetery. I select the Bolt Hedgehog I discarded a moment ago (DEF: 800, LV: 2)."

With a wave of its hand, the orange monster summoned back Yusei's small furry rodent whose back was lined with the shafts and heads of many bolts. "Next, I tune my Level 3 Junk Synchron to my Level 2 Bolt Hedgehog and my Level 3 Shield Warrior!" Pulling its pull start chord with its right hand, the orange monster's rear engines revved and it changed into three white ors that became green rings, surrounding both monsters and making them into five white orbs, then a column of light.

"The clustering forces will become a hammer to strike the earth," he then chanted, surprising Crow as he had never heard this chant before. "Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Junk Destroyer (ATK: 2600, LV: 8)!" Appearing from the column of light, there arose a massive monster which was mostly orange and grey, with a towering bulky form and a large pair of fists.

"What is that?" Crow asked in astonishment. "Some new Synchro Monster?"

"When Junk Destroyer is Synchro Summoned Successfully," Yusei explained, "I destroy one card my opponent controls for every nom-Tuner used in this Monster's Synchro Summon."

"You what?" Crow asked as the two fists of the monster were raised up into the air, coming squarely down on his two monsters, shattering them instantly. "No! This isn't good!"

"And it's about to get worse!" a male voice suddenly yelled out seemingly from nowhere, causing everybody to look around. Soon, diving off one of the above ramps came a white D-Wheel bearing a green Infinity Symbol on the front of it, which came crashing down upon Crow and caused him to wipe out.

"Crow!" Yusei yelled out in dismay, seeing his friend going sliding across the roads.

"Hang on boy!" Kyojo finally yelled out, sweeping his bike low to grab Crow's shoulder and hoist him up, getting the D-Wheel back to a vertical position and allowing Crow to take control again.

"Thank you, Kyojo," Crow said before turning his attention to the other, new D-Wheeler. "Who the fuck do you think you are?!"

"The name's David Rabb," the man explained, taking off his helmet. He was revealed to have the same dirty blond hair as Reggie, the same dangling earring, and the same all-over white clothing. "Any Signers," he added, putting his helmet back on, "it's time to Riding Duel!"

Pressing a button while letting out a guttural laugh, Yusei's entire field, Life Points and SPC reset, all the card from his Cemetery sliding back out. Reluctantly, Yusei put them all back in his Deck, where they shuffled. "Very well, David! Let's settle this!"

"That's what I thought," David replied, pulling 5 cards from a Deck compartment in the console of his vehicle. A tray then folded out as Yusei pulled five cards, and so both yelled,

"Riding Duel! Acceleration!"

Yusei: LP 4000

David: LP 4000

"I'll take the first turn," David explained as a green Infinity Symbol appeared around both players, making Yusei slightly nervous before it disappeared again. "I summon Quantity (DEF: 400, LV: 1)." Appearing beside David from a blue vortex, there came a small silvery robot with a single light for a face, which crouched and turned blue. "I also set 2 cards. Then, I end my turn."

"_What is this guy's plan?"_ Yusei wondered. _"He knows that monster will never protect him for long. Oh well."_ "It's my turn! I draw (Yusei: 1 SPC/David: 1 SPC)!" Looking at his card, Yusei reached for one already in his hand and declared, I Summon Rock-Stone Warrior (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)!" With that Yusei called out a rather thick and powerful-looking figure composed of many rocks, whose only face consisted of two yellow eyes on a slab of stone. "Battle!"

Lunging forward, the massive stone figure took a swing at the robot and smashed it, making pieces fly out all over the place. "Trap Card Open!" David declared. "Scrap Replacement! When a Machine-Type monster I control is destroyed and sent to the Cemetery, I send all copies of that monster from my Deck to the Cemetery." Reaching for his Deck, two more of the monster slid out and he placed them into the Cemetery, sneering.

"In return, I draw one card." When his Deck finished shuffling, he took a card from the top of it and placed it into his hand, leaving Yusei asking questions in his own mind.

"I set 2 cards of my own," Yusei declared, placing down two of his own cards before they disappeared. "I end my turn."

"Draw (Yusei: 2 SPC/David: 2 SPC)," David stated, reaching for the card he had drawn moments earlier. "Speed Spell – Angel Baton! I draw 2 cards, and send one card in my hand to the Cemetery." Picking up two cards at once, he sneered as he took one of them and placed it into the Cemetery before playing the card he drew for his turn.

"I summon Quality (DEF: 1500, LV: 3)," David then stated, calling forth a slightly larger robot with a more complex face, a shield on one of its arms and more brass-coloured armour. "Then, I set 1 card and end my turn."

"Draw (Yusei: 3 SPC/David: 3 SPC)," Yusei then declared, pulling a new card and reaching for another card. "I activate Speed Spell – Spell Slip! BY activating this card, I copy the effect of a Speed Spell my opponent played in their last turn, provided I can meet its SPC requirements! Come, Angel Baton!" With that the transparent image of the card appeared from David's Cemetery as Yusei pulled two cards and dropped one of them into the Cemetery.

"You're using my own cards now?" David questioned. "That's a rather clever strategy, but I wouldn't bet on it working."

"Bet on it!" Yusei yelled, holding up his own Speed Spell – Angel Baton. "I activate Angel Baton again!" Pulling two more cards, he immediately took one and threw it away before saying, "I Summon Junk Synchron (ATK: 1300, LV: 3)!" As with his last duel, Yusei called out his orange mechanical monster before a card slid out of his Cemetery, holding it up. "Due to Junk Synchron's effect, I Special Summon Speed Warrior (DEF: 400, LV: 2)."

Yusei then slapped down a card that invoked a grey, green and brown warrior whose feet were wheeled, almost like roller blades, and who more a fighter pilot's oxygen mask. "And next, because I control a Tuner Monster, I Special Summon Boost Warrior from my hand (ATK: 300, LV: 1)!" Slapping down the card, Yusei called out a tall, thin warrior with a pair of rockets strapped to his back.

"I tune my Level 3 Junk Synchron to my Level 4 Rock-Stone Warrior!" With that the orange monster again pulled its pull chord and became three green rings, surrounding the rock monster and changing it into a yellow outline containing 4 white orbs, which became a beam of light.

"The clustering forces will split into a silver arrow," Yusei declared. "Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Come, Junk Archer (ATK: 2300, LV: 7)!" Out of the light them emerged a fairly tall monster with mostly grey armour, but also a tall orange face that opened to reveal a blue orb inside. There was fletching on its forearms, the left of which had a bow attacked to it with an arrow at the ready.

"Nice!" Crow yelled out. "Yusei can start doing some real damage!"

"Since I Synchro Summoned while I have Boost Warrior in play," Yusei explained, "I have that 1 monster gain 300 ATK for as long as it remains face-up on the field (ATK: 2600). Next, I send Level Stealer from my hand to the Cemetery and I Special Summon Quick Synchron (ATK: 700, LV: 5)!" Placing a card into his Cemetery, Yusei put down the last card in his hand to call out his blue cowboy-like robot, gun in hand.

"I activate the effect of Level Stealer," Yusei declared. "When it's in my Cemetery, by decreasing the Level of my Junk Archer by 1 (LV: 6), I Special Summon it (ATK: 600, LV: 1)." A blue beam shot from the archer and revealed a black ladybug-like monster whose rear carapace was a level star symbol. "I Tune my Level 1 Boost Warrior to my Level 2 Speed Warrior and my Level 1 Level Stealer!"

Starting his boosters, the warrior changed into a single green ring, which the other two monsters shot through to become outlines of themselves. These then changed into 1 and two white orbs, respectively, and formed a column of light. "The clustering arms will call upon a new weapon of war," Yusei chanted. "Become the path its light shines upon. Synchro Summon! Appear, Arms Aid (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)!"

"Awesome!" Kyojo yelled out just as the creature broke through the light. Revealed was a massive mechanical firearm with five red claw-like digits, a black main hand section, and several segments of grey armour topped off my a gold-trimmed metal panel at the rear.

"Next, I activate the effect of the Bolt Hedgehog I discarded," Yusei explained. "Since the Tuner monster Quick Synchron is in play, I Special Summon it from my Cemetery (ATK: 800, LV: 2)!" Out from a blue vortex once again emerged the furry hedgehog with bolts lining its back, which squeaked as Yusei made his next move. "I activate Quick Synchron's effect, and treat it as Nitro Synchron, so I can Tune it to my Level 2 Bolt Hedgehog!"

Several cards then appeared in front of the cowboy-like creature, one of which it shot just before turning into five white orbs that became green rings. These rings then surrounded the smaller monster, changing it into light as Yusei chanted. "Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Blaze on, Nitro Warrior (ATK: 2800, LV: 7)!"

Out of the light then emerged his most-green, horned warrior with massive form, rockets on its back and arms, and black sections of its body. "I activate my Trap Card: Synchro Draw!" With that Yusei revealed the Trap Card he had not used since his Duel with Darkness, several months before.

"What is that trap card?" David asked in irritation. "Does it mean you turn is still going on and on?"

"This Trap Card activates if I control 2 or more Synchro Summoned Synchro Monsters," Yusei explained. "Now, I draw 1 card for each Synchro Monster I control, plus one; but if I draw any Tuner Monsters, I must discard them." With that Yusei fanned up four cards, which he looked at quickly and said, "No Tuner Monsters were drawn."

"That's a pretty sweet Combo Yusei's set up," Crow realized. "He gave himself three powerful monsters, four new cards, and most importantly a chance at a victory."

"I activate the effect of Junk archer, to…" Yusei started before David cut him off.

"Sorry," David said smugly, "but Quality's effect prevents him from being targeted by opponent's Monster Card effects."

"That's true," Yusei replied, remembering that particular fact about the monster. "And, it has another effect which I am familiar with. I attack your Quality with Nitro Warrior! Dynamite Knuckle!" The green warrior's rockets on its forearms lit up and it shot forward, lunging into the machine monster and causing it to explode.

"Good job," David declared, "But I activate Quality's other effect! When Quality is destroyed by battle, I Special Summon every Quality in my Cemetery [(DEF: 400, LV: 1) x3]." With that a vortex produced three of the smaller, more basic machines from the Cemetery in a crouching position.

"Yes, but now I may activate Nitro Warrior's effect," Yusei pointed out. "When it destroys a monster by battle, I change an opponent's Defence Position monster to attack position and attack it as well. I select Quantity (ATK: 500)." The machine on the far left then changed to a standing position and its blue armour returned to silver.

"At this time," David declared, "I activate my Trap Card: Undying Class! I release the Quantity you targeted and another one, and I Special Summon 1 Level 7 or higher monster from my Cemetery. Return, The big SATURN (ATK: 2800, LV: 8)!" As the machine that was standing and one of its counterparts vanished, a beam of light shot up from the Cemetery that gave the silhouette of a large mechanical monster.

"What… is that creature?" Crow asked din disbelief, just as the monster appeared from the light. The monster was black and grey metal, a central rounded body with a red orb at its centre with a pair of tanks mounted on its back, a glowing yellow ring around itself, a pair of thrusters that resembled the stumps of legs, a pair of gigantic floating forearms with massive fists, and a smaller head with blue eyes and a crown-like structure.

"Because of the effect of Quantity," David pointed out, "All Machine-Type Monsters besides Quantity gain 400 ATK (ATK: 3200), and if I control another Machine-Type monster besides Quantity, then you cannot attack Quantity. Not that it matters; Nitro Warrior's second effect is now negated by the removal of its target from the field."

"I know," Yusei stated, looking up at the gigantic monster before him. _"The big SATURN... one of the Legendary Planet Series... I'll need my Deck's full power in the fight..."_

* * *

"Is summoning that monster truly the best you can do, Signer?" Reggie inquired of Luca, who merely looked on and gave a dark glare of non-amusement. "Then in that case, behold my Deck and its power. Draw!"

"Reggie's Angel Deck stands to be a huge threat to our young Luca," Taiyou realized. "If she can swarm the field with Angels before Luca can even fight back, it's all over."

"I activate the effect of Tethys," Reggie declared, flipping around a card in her hand – more specifically, her most recent draw. "Because I drew the Angel-Type monster Zeriel, I may draw yet another card." With that Reggie placed the card in her hand and drew again, revealing a second Angel-Type Monster and drawing for a Third time.

Sneering with herself, she then held up her first card and said, "I summon the Tuner Monster Zeriel (DEF: 300, LV: 1)." In front of Reggie them emerged the form of a golden statue-like angel with a large head and small wings, followed my another card. "Permanent Magic: Court of Justice!"

"Another Permanent Magic," Johan realized, just before a large stone and metal ring with the statues of two small, round angels materialized high above their heads and the top of the palace.

"Once per turn, if I control a Level 1 Angel-Type Monster, I may Special Summon 1 Angel-Type Monster from my hand. Come, The splendid VENUS (ATK: 2800, LV: 8)!" A shower of light then descended down from the ring, through which a large angelic figure slowly descended. Its female form was covered in bronze metal, its right hand held a gold staff like a dream catcher, it had four snow-white wings, its face was covered over, and its dress ended in a feather-like pattern with no legs below.

"That monster…" Aki recognized. "It's in the Legendary Planet Series. Where did Yliaster get access to such cards?"

"While Zeriel is in play," Reggie explained, "all my Angel-Type monsters gain 500 ATK (ATK: 2900) (ATK: 3300). Next, due to VENUS, your monsters that are not Angels lose 500 ATK (ATK: 1300) Go, Venus, attack Rose Bird!" with that the tall, metallic angel created a shining beacon from its staff, temporarily blinding Luca and the crew while the monster in front of Luca exploded.

Luca: LP 2000

Reggie: LP 4000

"When Rose Bird is destroyed in Attack Position," Luca explained, "I can Special Summon 2 Level 2 or lower Plant-Type Tuner Monsters from my Deck. I select Weed (DEF: 400, LV: 2) and Spore (DEF: 800, LV: 1)!" On either side of Luca emerged a monster. On her left there appeared a grass-like gremlin which crouched and turned blue, and on the other a white orb-like monster appeared and did the same.

"Then I attack Weed with Tethys," Reggie declared as the other monster raised her wings, producing a blast of light that struck the monster; but to Reggie's surprise, it bounced off and struck the other monster, shattering it. "What's this?"

"If Weed would be destroyed by battle," Luca explained, "I can destroy another monster I control instead."

"Then I activate Fairy's Blast," Reggie declared, flipping up her Permanent Trap Card. "When a monster is not destroyed by battle with an Angel-Type Monster, it will simply be destroyed by this effect instead." Suddenly, the monster in front of Luca exploded, making her cover her eyes again.

"I end my turn," Reggie declared. "Come, Signer; show me your true power."

"Draw!" Luca declared.

* * *

Standing in front of the Old Momentum Generator, Paradox looked upon the glowing orange energy with his golden eyes glowing through his mask. _"I think it's time I found something with a bit more substance,"_ he thought. _"Perhaps... another of the Five Dragons..."_

Pulling a card from his Deck, he saw the card he had taken from the fake Jack and declared, "Come! Sin Red Daemon's Dragon!" Holding the card to the air, he called out a dragon whose basic form was that of Jack's red and grey dragon; but its chest, wings, shoulder and shins were covered in black metallic armour with grey details, and a face-mask which was right half black and left half white. The creature let out a massive roar, golden eyes glowing through lines on its mask.

"Red Daemon's, open the door to the Dominion of Beasts!" Paradox instructed, pointing at the glowing generator. A mere second later, the dragon lit up its right fist in black flames and striking the Momentum with it. Seconds later, a section of the Momentum's vertical cylinder opened up and revealed a white glowing gateway, which Paradox walked through with a sneer on his face just before the Dragon vanished behind him.

When the light subsided, Paradox found himself at the base of the Dragon Temple, staring up at the monolithic structure through his mask, almost in awe. Stepping forward, he brought himself up onto the staircase and quickly to the top of the structure, where he saw the truly interesting part.

There, surrounding the main Throne Room of the building, were five obelisks. Four of them had different colours – one red, one light blue, one a much darker red, and one black (this one having rubble at its base) – that bore one of the Five Dragons each and one of the Saviors each, the latter closer to the top. The last one was very basic sandstone, shorter than the others and only bearing the remaining Dragon: Ancient Fairy.

Looking to his right, this last Obelisk and the red one bearing Black Rose Dragon and its Savior Counterpart. Locking in on this one, he produced a blank card with a black border from his pocket and pointed it at the carving of the Base Dragon. A black beam then shot off the card, surrounding the carving in blackness.

* * *

"What's happening?" Aki asked, drawing the attention of the others to her Deck which was now glowing black. Off the Deck suddenly shot a black geyser of flames, inside of which emerged the mostly red flower-like dragon with thorned, black stem-like limbs, neck and tail, and a trail of red petals off the back of its head.

"Black Rose Dragon!" Taiyou yelled out. "Something is very wrong in the Dominion World!" Suddenly, the dragon roared out and flexed its wings, dispersing the black flames before the dragon itself disappeared in a flash of light.

"What just happened?" Aki then asked, shocked at what had just happened. Taiyou, however, seemed to know then answer; for under his breath he muttered,

"Master Endymion… You did it…"

* * *

As Paradox was attempting to absorb the spirit of the dragon, his attention was broken by the sound of sudden movement. Turning to look, Paradox was flung aside by the striking of a staff against his face, making it fall off while he slammed into the stone base of the light blue obelisk bearing the Star Dragons. Slumped against the base, Paradox saw through his uncovered eyes the 7-foot-tall form of Endymion, clad in his purple and gold armour and cloak and staff in his hand.

"Who dares intrude upon the Sacred Dominion's Altar of the Dragons?" Endymion then questioned threateningly, to which Paradox simply smiled insanely and let out a psychotic laugh.

"Who am I, Endymion?" he repeated as he got to his feet, disturbing Endymion that he had been addressed by name from a human he did not know. "I am Paradox," was the simple, amused reply to the rhetorical question.

"Paradox?" Endymion questioned through his eye mask, sounding shocked. "It cannot be so."

"Oh, but it is so," Paradox stated, eyes glowing again. "Behold, my Servant!" Once again holding up the corrupted dragon form earlier, he recalled the twisted transformation of Jack's Red Daemon's Dragon, growling at Endymion and angering him.

"Thou dare to remake a Sacred Dragon into such a twisted and demonic form?!" the magician yelled, half a second before the dragon roared and threw its now burning fist at him. Jumping up, Endymion extended his arm so the end of his staff would take the full brunt of the blast, and for a second or two he held his ground; but then the dragon overpowered him, and he was shot back to the ground and almost over the edge of the stone temple.

Suddenly, the sound of a muffled scream caught Paradox's attention. Turning, he saw the black-cloaked form of a young woman with tanned skin, half of her hair a dark grey that was almost black while the other half was a deep purple. Her green eyes and the amber gem on a chain around her forehead attracted the attention of Paradox, which Endymion noticed. "Kanako, run!" he yelled out, just as Paradox pointed the black card at her.

Before she even had the chance to register the command, a black burst of energy shot from the card, going straight through the girl and rising into the air. There, another version of the rose-like dragon, this one having glowing crimson outlines to all its petals instead of the regular black and white, and it screamed within the flames as Paradox said,

"So, you are indeed Enjou Kanako, the Summoner girl who once bore the form of Yubel and the keeper of Black Rose Dragon." With that the form of the dragon completely disappeared into the blackness and the energy from it all retracted into the card, and Kanako's form slumped and fell all the way to the base of the steps.

"Kanako!" Endymion yelled, turning back at a now laughing Paradox. "You bastard and cur! That girl was a Summoner, my Apprentice and a Guardian of the Dragons!"

"The girl still lives," Paradox answered after he stopped laughing, a dark smile still on his face. "Or at least, as much as anyone who resides here can live. All I wanted was the dragon; I left her soul intact."

"Even such, this mockery and disgrace will not be tolerated in my Kingdom!" Endymion yelled, firing a purple blast of energy into the chest of the dragon still behind Paradox and causing it to explode. "This shall be settled here! I wager against that Dragon's soul…"

"Save the wagers Endymion," Paradox said callously. "All I desire is this Dragon; you have nothing to interest me. Even so, I will duel." With that a purple glow engulfed Paradox's Duel Disc and it turned on, while a purple and gold-trimmed Duel Disc formed on Endymion's left arm.

"DUEL!"

Endymion: LP 4000

Paradox: LP 4000

**Card of the Week – David**

**The big SATURN**

**Type:** DARK

**Level:** 8

**Family:** [Machine/Effect]

**Effect:** This card cannot be Special Summoned from the hand or Deck. Once per turn, activate by discarding 1 card and paying 1000 Life Points. Until the End Phase, this card gains 1000 ATK. When this card is destroyed by an opponent's card effect and sent to the Cemetery, both players receive damage equal to this card's ATK.

**ATK/** 2800

**DEF/** 2200

*What is Yliaster truly planning? Only time will tell. Review if you wish.*


	15. Trap of the Machine Army

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 15 – Trap of the Machine Army! Big SATURN vs. Stardust Dragon**

Riding along the main Highway of Neo Domino, Kiryu had been out on the roads all morning, attempting to blow off some steam on his D-Wheel (his old Dark Signer model, spray-painted dark grey where the orange had been). What he had succeeded in doing, was finding a Riding Duel – one with a very familiar face in the Driver's Seat.

"_Yusei... and who is that other man...?"_ Looking down upon his D-Wheels' console to see what was occurring, he saw the name of the other Duelist come up as "David", and he saw where the Life Points and field were as well. _"This isn't good."_

Looking over at David's monsters, big SATURN (ATK: 3200, LV: 8) and Quantity (DEF: 400, LV: 1), Yusei had a puzzled look on his face mixed with his usual stoic solemnity. "I activate Arms Aid's effect, and I equip it to Junk Archer to have it gain 1000 ATK (ATK: 3600, LV: 6)!" Splitting into six arm pieces like half-bands, plus the hand, the arm monster attached itself onto the right arm of the orange archer, forming a huge extension on the arm.

"I set 2 cards and end my turn," Yusei declared, placing 2 of his 4 cards down and making them appear for a split second. _"If I can get through these next few turns, I can get rid of that monster; but if not, this is the end of the line for me."_

"Draw (Yusei: 4 SPC/David: 4 SPC)," David then declared. "I activate big SATURN's effect; by discarding 1 card and paying 1000 Life Points, my SATURN gains 1000 ATK until the End Phase (ATK: 4200)." Placing a card from his hand into the Cemetery, his monster's power increased as parts of its body began to change shape.

Yusei: LP 4000

David: LP 3000

In a second, the tanks on the back of the monster folded up and onto their sides on the shoulders of the monster, opening and revealing four gun barrels each. The thrusters for the feet then folded around and into cannons, and the body extended outwards horizontally to reveal a cannon in the chest.

"Next, I summon Pandora (ATK: 1500, LV: 4), whose power increases by 400 due to Quantity (ATK: 1900)." From a blue vortex then emerged a large metallic silver head with black trim and a red jewel on its forehead. "And now, I attack Junk Archer with SATURN End of the Cosmos!" Out of all three cannons and eight gun barrels shot laser blasts that struck the orange monster, exploding it and causing Yusei to be shocked.

Yusei: LP 3400

David: LP 3000

"Yusei!" Crow yelled out in dismay, just before David started laughing evilly. "What the fuck is so funny!"

"Seeing your friend in such pain," David explained. "Trap Card: Desperate Battle! If my opponent controls a monster after my attack, by reducing my monster's power by 1000 (ATK: 3200), it may declare a second attack! Destroy Nitro Warrior!" Once again the large machine fired out massive lasers from all its weapons, exploding Yusei's green warrior as well.

Yusei: LP 3000

David: LP 3000

"Next, I direct attack with Pandora!" David yelled, pointing straight at Yusei. With that his metal head lit up thrusters on its back end and shot straight into Yusei, creating an explosion and bouncing off. Yusei's D-Wheel then swayed and staggered a little, but he held control even through the ensuing electric shocks.

Yusei: LP 1100

David: LP 3000

"Trap Card Open!" Yusei yelled, flipping a card with a motion of his arm. "Damage Gate! When I receive Battle Damage from an attack, I Special Summon a monster whose Level is equal to or les than my Damage. Return: Arms Aid (ATK: 1400, LV: 2)!" Forming a blue vortex on its surface, the card released the mechanical arm from earlier, which flexed as David reached for his Deck.

"When Pandora inflicts Battle Damage by attacking directly," he explained, "I may add one Pandora from my Deck to my hand." With that he held up the card to show it, placing it into his hand as he pulled his other card. "Then, I set one card. At the End Phase, big SATURN returns to Normal (ATK: 3200)." The pieces of the machine that had transformed then returned to their original form. "I end my turn."

"Yusei!" Kiryu finally yelled out, getting the attention of everyone else as he pulled up level with Kyojo. "Yusei, show this guy why you don't mess with Team Satisfaction!"

Nodding as he looked back at Kiryu, Yusei yelled, "Right!" Turning around, he reached for a card and yelled, "It's my turn (Yusei: 5 SPC/David: 5 SPC)!" Looking at his card quickly, he slapped it onto the tray and yelled, "I summon Bri Synchron (ATK: 1500, LV: 4)!"

A blue vortex then appeared that released a tall, thin robot with red and white paint that appeared to be made partly with airplane parts. "Now, I tune Bri Synchron to my Level 4 Arms Aid!" The monster then changed into 4 green rings that surrounded the arm, changing it into 4 white orbs to form a horizontal column of light.

"The clustering hopes will become a new shining star," Yusei chanted out as the light bent up and went to where the sun was. "Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" When it reached the sun, the light exploded into a rain of glowing white sparks that descended down, solidifying into the form of the long-winged white dragon as it let out a massive roar.

"That's your mighty Signer Dragon?" David scoffed, laughing and thus offending the others. "Bah! It's got a mere 2500 ATK. My monster will destroy it!"

"That's what you think!" Yusei yelled, his and Crow's Signer marks lighting up. "Because I used Bri Synchron for the Synchro Summon, the summoned monster gains 600 ATK (ATK: 3100), and in return its effect is negated for this turn. Next, I activate Shooting Star!"

"Now that's a combo!" Kyojo said ecstatically, the card flipping around and a ball of whit energy appearing in the dragon's mouth.

"With Stardust Dragon in play," Yusei explained, "Shooting Star lets me destroy 1 card. I select Quantity!" Screeching, the dragon shot its energy in a stream at the smallest robot, exploding it and forcing David to cover his eyes. "Now, big SATURN loses its ATK bonus (ATK: 2800). I attack big SATURN with Stardust Dragon! Shooting Sonic!"

Tilting its head back, the dragon once again began to build up energy in its mouth; however, this time, David flipped a card in reply. "Trap Card: Cyber Repairer! The opposing player draws a card, and in return my Machine-Type monsters cannot be destroyed by battle this turn!" With that the energy shot from the dragons' mouth into the machine and through it, striking David but leaving the machine intact.

Yusei: LP 1100

David: LP 2700

"Thank you," Yusei said, pulling his card before waving his hand for another card. "Trap Card Open: Synchro Halo! When my Synchro Monster fails to destroy a monster in battle, I double its ATK (ATK: 6200) and give it a second attack on that monster. I attack big SATURN again!" Roaring, the dragon shot yet another beam of energy at the gigantic robot and caused an explosion, obscuring David's D-Wheel in smoke.

"Did it work?" Crow asked, getting only solemn silence from either person with him."

"It seems too unlikely he's give up that easily," Kyojo interpreted. "Not with 2 face-down cards." Soon, his suspicions were confirmed when David appeared from the smoke, along with his monsters, and with a card flipped up.

Yusei: LP 1100

David: LP 1000

"I activated the Permanent Trap Card Energy Split," David explained, sneering at Yusei. "Due to this card, I halved by Battle Damage, and on top of that I get to draw one card." With that he snapped up a card and placed it into his tray, Yusei looking on with a scowl.

"I set two cards," he stated, looking on at David's dark smile while his two cards appeared and disappeared. "I end my turn, so Stardust's ATK returns to normal (ATK: 2500). But, since you have only 1000 Life Points, you cannot pay for the effect of big SATURN again."

Growling, David declared, "I know. Draw (Yusei: 6 SPC/David: 6 SPC)! I attack Stardust Dragon with SATURN!" Two rockets on the back of the two floating fists shot forward and struck the white dragon, just as Yusei flipped up a card. The dragon then exploded, but Yusei remained unharmed.

"I activate Guard Block," he explained, "so I negate my damage and draw one card." Pulling his card, he again flipped up a card and declared, "Next I activate The Afterglow of a Miracle, and I Special Summon the Stardust Dragon destroyed by battle (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" From the glowing card returned the form of the dragon, once again roaring.

"I turn Pandora to Defence Position (DEF: 1900)," David declared, his head turning blue. "Then I summon my second Pandora (DEF: 1900, LV: 4)." Beside the existing metal head then emerged a second one, identical down to the colour. "I set one card and end my turn."

"Yusei's dodged a bullet here," Kiryu realized. "He's safe for some time if he can keep Stardust; but if he loses it, it's game over."

"Have you given up yet, Yusei?" David questioned, laughing. "Your monster has no power compared to my mechanical horde. Surrender and leave with your life."

"I'll not back down!" Yusei yelled back, raising his right fist in defiance. "Not so long as I have the ability to fight. It is my duty as a Signer to fight for myself, for my friends, and for this world until the very end. And that means no one may stand in our way!" With that, Yusei's glowing mark disappeared off his arm, along with Crow's and (as they sensed) the others', and then the complete seal formed on Yusei's back.

"It's the last turn," Yusei declared, his top card glowing yellow as he reached for it. "Behold, the salvation of that which is good. Draw (Yusei: 7 SPC/David: 7 SPC!" Snapping up his card, he held it to the air and yelled, "I summon Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" A beam of light shot up from the card, releasing the red form of the teardrop-shaped dragon as everyone else looked on in awe.

"Next, I activate Speed Spell – Summon Speeder!" Yusei declared, putting down a card. "Since I have 4 SPC, I may Special Summon one Level 4 or lower monster from my hand. Come on, Tuning Supporter (ATK: 100, LV: 1)!" With that Yusei was also joined by his small yellow robot, and then all three of his monsters rose up into the air.

"I Tune my Level 1 Savior Dragon to my Level 8 Stardust Dragon and Level 1 Tuning Supporter!" The red dragon then became the size of a large aircraft and became transparent, the white dragon rising up into it and changing into a yellow outline containing 8 white orbs. The robot then did the same, becoming an outline with one orb.

"The shine of the clustering stars will illuminate a new miracle," Yusei chanted as the outlines disappeared, leaving the orbs to form a horizontal row of line inside a green ring, the entire monster exploding into light. "Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Descend down in light, Savior Star Dragon (ATK: 3800, LV: 10!" Suddenly Yusei was consumed by light and disappeared and out from the dragon's glowing form then exploded the even larger blue dragon, screeching as it unfurled its wings and shot by the duelists, creating a sonic boom.

Yusei, now inside the body of the dragon and the rainbow field along with his D-Wheel, declared, causing the echo to be heard as the dragon looped around, "I now draw one card because I used Tuning Supporter in a Synchro Summon. Then, by removing all 7 Speed Counters from Speed World 2," he added, once again turning around to keep roughly with the duel, "I can draw again!"

"Go ahead and draw your cards," David yelled up, anticipating Yusei remove all his counters. "Due to Energy Split, since your monster has more than 3000 ATK, I can halve its battle damage!"

"I know," Yusei said, having not yet drawn his second card or removed his counters, "but I intend to make good on my word! I activate Speed Spell – Silver Contrail! Since I still have more than 5 SPC, until the End Phase, my WIND monster gains 1000 ATK (ATK: 4800)."

"Trap Card Open!" David yelled. "Power Seize! Once per turn, I increase the ATK of a monster I control by the amount being applied to your monster. Thus, SATURN gains 1000 ATK (ATK: 3800)! Now, you can't touch my Life Points!"

"Don't be so sure," Yusei stated. "Now, I will activate Speed World 2's second effect just as I promised (Yusei: 0 SPC/David: 7 SPC)!" Pulling up his card, he also said, "I activate the effect of Savior Star Dragon! Once per turn, I negate an opponent's monster effect and use it as my own for this turn! Sublimation Drain!"

"What?!" David yelled as the huge dragon began to glow white and white energy began to seep off the gigantic machine. All this energy then was absorbed into the form of the dragon, at which David grunted.

"By discarding 1 card and paying 1000 Life Points," Yusei then declared, "I have Savior Star Dragon activate big SATURN's effect and aging 1000 ATK (ATK: 5800)!" Even if you halve this damage, it's game over! Go, Savior Star Dragon, attack The big SATURN! Shooting Blast Sonic!" The dragon then folded its wings up against its body and began to dive, its entire form outlining in dark blue energy as it shot straight at the machine.

"NO!" David yelled out just before the leading edge of the dragon pierced through the metal body of the machine, being gone and back into the sky within a tenth of a second. When it got to about 10000 feet up, the dragon went vertical and flexed out all its limbs, shattering the energy around it and floating there, glowing. The body of the machine that was damaged then exploded, knocking David's body off his D-Wheel and against the wall of the highway.

Yusei: LP 100

David: LP 0

Looking down in slight dismay, Yusei watched the others stop right next to David, his D-Wheel lying against the road as all the Solid Vision died down. Thinking of what next to do, Yusei mentally instructed the dragon to turn and dive again, stooping and changing into a blue comet-like energy field on its way down. Yusei then touched down 100 meters from the others, shooting over to them and parking as the seal faded away and the energy disappeared.

"Is he alright?" Yusei questioned, looking down at the unconscious David Rabb. There, he noticed that the stone on the earring had shattered, the pieces being nowhere to be found.

"I think so," Kiryu stated. "But he's gonna be out of it for some time. We should take him back to the hideout to question him." With that everyone nodded, so they took him and slung him onto the back of Kiryu's D-Wheel. Kyojo then picked up the bike David had been using and pulled it over to his own, chaining its front end to his rear end before pulling a pair of shades from the glove compartment and mounting his own ride.

"Let's go!" Yusei instructed, prompting them all to turn and ride back towards their base.

* * *

"The time has come, Endymion," Paradox declared, standing opposite the magician on the front platform of the Dragon Temple. "The time for you to bow before the new world era."

"What new world era is this?" Endymion asked, receiving only a psychotic smile from the human opposite him. Looking back, Endymion's left eye has its iris shrunken and the sclera bloodshot, and he replied,

"The world without the plague of humanity." The words stinging like rose thorns, Endymion merely growled under his breath while Paradox grabbed his top card and snapped up the card, dropping down his right arm while extending his left out all the way.

Bringing his hands together in front of him, Paradox then sneered as he folded his drawn card against his palm to grab another card, holding it up to Endymion while a Field Zone slid out from his Duel Disc's tray. "I activate the Field Magic Card, Sin World."

Placing the card onto the Zone, Paradox sneered and Endymion looked on solemnly while a black energy circulated throughout the whole tray, then the whole device, his whole arm and finally his whole body. With that a patch of the ground below him changed into a green outline of itself, the space in between being a purple space with many stars, and then it began to expand everywhere.

Looking up, Endymion had to gasp in awe and terror while the entire temple was consumed by this space, before it spread and consumed the forest as well. Slowely the field corrupted it into the sky, which became almost entirely black except for the glowing stars, the glowing outlines of the treetops, and the gun which now shone dull yellow through the field.

"What… is this dreadful field?" Endymion asked, once again triggering Paradox to laugh darkly. Looking back down, he saw Paradox sneering darkly before replying,

"This is the very world which I was abandoned with. All that remains of my home, the future of the human world, is darkness, decay, and the radiance of the stars above. There is no hope unless I complete my goals." Holding up the card he had drawn, he then slapped it into the tray and declared, "I Summon Sin Black Rose Dragon (ATK: 2400, LV: 7)!"

"What?" Endymion asked, right before a column of black flames burst up from Paradox's Deck, becoming a huge black aura that slowly revealed the form of a large dragon. Its main body was the huge red rose of the monster's form, and its legs, neck and tail matched; but its face was covered in a mask almost exactly like Paradox's, and its wings were composed of huge black metal scales with light grey trim.

"Paradox, explain yourself!" Endymion then demanded. "How can you summon such a monster without any sort of other effects?"

"Sin Monsters can only be Special Summoned by excluding the Normal monster from the Deck, or in this case the Extra Deck," Paradox explained, his monster growling. "However, they have limitations. Normally, only 1 Sin may be on the field, and only for as long as a Field Magic card exists. Also, none of my other monsters may attack."

"Then their only use is for an easy Special Summon," Endymion deduced. "I'm not too worried."

"You should be" Paradox replied with a sneer, pulling a card from his hand and playing it. Endymion saw that its name was written in English characters and Paradox declared, "I activate the Magic Card, Sin Blast. I select one Sin monster I control, and it cannot attack this turn. In exchange, I inflict damage to the opponent equal to its ATK."

Grunting, Endymion watched while the dragon built up a black ball on energy in its mouth, shooting it at him and blasting him with black flames. He grunted I pain, and slid backwards to the edge of the platform, but held his composure while he extinguished.

Endymion: LP 1600

Paradox: LP 4000

"That's not my whole turn," Paradox stated. "I activate the Permanent Magic, Field Barrier." As the card flipped into play, the card of the field magic appeared behind him and was covered in a total green glow.

"_Then I cannot activate any new Field Magic Cards, or destroy the existing one," _Endymion realized, looking at his hand and seeing Village of the Magic Tribe._ "This card will be no good to me."_

"I will set one card," Paradox concluded, placing a card onto the tray and integrating it, its image remaining solid. "Now, I end my turn. Come, Endymion; show me the power of the Master of Magicians."

"I shall," Endymion declared. "I draw! I activate the Magic Card, Angel's Gift." Pulling 3 cards from his Deck, the magician took his Field Magic and the card he had drawn for his turn, and placed them both into the Cemetery. "Next, I Summon Magician's Valkyrie (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)."

Right in front of Endymion, a female magician appeared from a white light and waved around a blue hook-like staff. The female wore light blue, red and white robes similar to a costume, a metal hat of a similar structure to the staff, and her red hair stuck out from under this hat in long sections.

"Instant Magic: Dimension Magic!" Endymion declared. "When I control a Magician, I may sacrifice a monster I control to Special Summon a Magician from my hand, and then I may destroy 1 monster on the field. By releasing Magician's Valkyrie, I call forth the great servant of the Pharaoh, the Black Magician (ATK: 2500, LV: 7)."

In a flash of light, the female magician before him disappeared and was replaced by a fall fair-skinned magician in purple robed armour, wearing a similarly pointy hat to his predecessor, and wielding a green staff. "Be gone, that deformation of a great dragon!" Endymion then declared as a gold structure like an iron maiden appeared and enclosed around the dragon, disappearing and leaving nothing behind.

"Trap Card Open!" Paradox declared, looking unhappy with the previous move as he revealed yet another card with an English name. "Sin Tune! When a Sin I control is destroyed, I may draw 2 cards from my deck!" With that he snapped up two cards from his Deck, while Endymion looked on without regard.

"Black Magician, direct attack the player!" Endymion commanded, causing the magician to spin his staff until it formed a purple orb of energy and shot it at Paradox. However, before he could be struck down, a monster in black and silver armour appeared before him and received the blow, exploding but leaving Paradox unharmed.

"I activated the effect of Sin Gardna," Paradox explained, pulling out his Deck. "When my opponent attacks while I control no monsters, I discard this monster to negate the attack and add a Sin monster from my Deck to my hand whose Level matches the attacking monster's. I select Sin Red-Eyes Black Dragon." Holing up the card, he sneered as he placed it into his hand and Endymion reached for a card.

"You won't get off so easily," Endymion informed, holding up another card. "Instant Magic: Dedication through Light and Darkness! By sending Black Magician to the Cemetery," he declared, his monster disappearing, "I call forth the Black Magician of Chaos (ATK: 2800, LV: 8)!"

From a burst of black light which followed, there appeared a black-clad monster in a full body suit including binding rings, a horn-like hat over black hair, and a red and black staff. Its skin blue and its eyes yellow, it looked on at Paradox as a card slid from Endymion's Duel Disc. "When this monster is Summoned, I may add one Magic Card from my Cemetery to my hand. I select Angel's Gift."

"_That's it Magician,"_ Paradox thought, _"Give me a direct attack with that monster."_

"I direct attack with Black Magician of Chaos!" Endymion yelled, Paradox covering his face with his Duel Disc while a black sparking orb was formed on the magician's staff and shot at him. It struck dead-centre, but then a white glow erupted from the Duel Disc and consumed Paradox, who laughed as Endymion covered his eyes.

***

Paradox found himself standing atop a huge building in Neo Domino City, looking down upon a huge crowd of people circled around a duel. Looking down, he saw that the combatants were Jack Atlus and Yuki Judai; he had found their duel sixth months earlier, the day before the fateful battle with the Dark Signers ended.

In the middle of his turn, Judai pulled 2 cards from his Deck, then held up one and card, "Next I'll pull the same trick as you; I summon the E-HERO Prismer I reshuffled (ATK: 1700, LV: 4)." All of a sudden there appeared before Judai his blue, white and green crystal warrior with a battle cry, looking on at Jack and his huge green dragon.

"Only for me that trick paid off," Jack shot back with a sneer, confident that Judai's move would not prevail."

"As it will for me," Judai countered, picking up his Deck and fanning through it "With Prismer's effect, I discard a monster from my deck to have his name become its own for this turn. I select a card that holds my bond of friendship. Prismer, take on the form of Ultimate Gem God – Rainbow Dragon!"

Discarding the legendary beast from his deck, the crystal warrior the erupted in a white glow and began to emit a huge light. Seeing his chance, Paradox pulled another black card frame from his pocket and swung it like swiped credit card, and below Judai's card once again ejected from his Duel Disc.

"Hey, what's going on?!" he then asked, seeing the card slide out and thus turning to his monster. Suddenly there appeared a wave of energy that temporarily reversed everything's colour scheme, and as the dragon started to take form another of itself split off from the main body.

"Judai!" Johan yelled out from the crowd, seeing the event. "What's this?" Looking up, he saw that while one of the dragons curled around Judai as it was supposed to, the other spread its wings and shot up vertically into the air, screaming as its whole body was consumed in light. As its deafening roar ended, it dissolved in particles of light; and with a psychotic laugh Paradox too disappeared.

"What in the hell was that?" Jack then asked, his face mirroring everyone else's confusion despite his anger. Looking around, Judai saw the card still sitting there like normal for a second before it slid back into the Cemetery slot. Then Judai looked on, waving his hand before saying,

"Reverse Card Open!"

***

As the light began to subside, Endymion removed his arm from in front of his eyes as he saw Paradox standing there with a sneer on his face, his entire body glowing white. "You…" the magician hissed. "What did you do…?"

Endymion: LP 1600

Paradox: LP 1200

"I really must thank you, Endymion," Paradox replied, closing his eyes and speaking slowly in a psychopathic manner. "Thanks to you, my power has grown stronger still."

"You lie!" Endymion then spat back, looking on in total rage. When Paradox simply returned a dark smile, he held up his card he had just retrieved and said, "I once again activate Angel's Gift!" With that the man snapped up three new cards, taking the two cards in his hand (revealed as Magician's Circle and Black Twin Burst) and pitching them.

"I set two cards and end my turn," Endymion said simply, looking back at Paradox as the man's Deck suddenly burst out in blackness. The magician watched in horror as the human held his Duel Disc up vertically and a card slid out from the Deck, which he snatched with his Left hand.

"During my Draw Phase, I activate Sin World's effect," he informed. "By skipping my normal draw, I add one Sin monster from my Deck to my hand." Spinning said card around to show the Duel Spirit, Endymion's face gained a look of total horror when he saw what it was; then, Paradox held the card up with his arm extended fully vertically and said,

"I Summon Sin Ultimate Gem God – Rainbow Dragon (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!" Behind Paradox then erupted a vertical column of blackness, generating winds as a rainbow hue appeared in the blackness and a dark guttural roar sounded out. Soon, the column twisted around and produced the form of wings and horns, and then it fully revealed the dragon.

"You bastard! How dare you twist such a legendary monster as that?!" Endymion spat above Paradox's continued psychotic laughter. The monster revealed was very much like Johan's white dragon, but its wings and the section they were mounted too were now grey-framed black metal with white trim. Its face also held a mask like Paradox's, including four places covering eyes instead of two as well as holes for its horns.

"If I have no respect for humanity, Endymion," Paradox countered, "why in hell would I care what people think of these tools of destruction." After snarking the man, Paradox held up another English-named Magic Card and declared, "I activate Sin Wave!"

Suddenly, the cards in front of Endymion that were set changed into green glowing frames with star-like sections, almost a darker version of the field. "Because I control a Sin, I may prevent the activation and effect of my opponent's Magic or Trap Cards until my next Standby Phase."

"That can't be!" Endymion said, realizing his field was completely exposed to the power of the massive dragon.

"There's more," Paradox declared. "I Special Summon the Sin Red-Eyes Black Dragon I added to my hand (ATK: 2400, LV: 7)!"

"That's impossible!" Endymion stated. "You said it yourself; only 1 Sin may be face-up on the field."

"I said that was normally the case," Paradox reminded the Duel Spirit. "However, Sin World allows me to control as many Sins as I wish, and attack with them all."

"That cannot be so!" As he looked on in terror, Paradox's massive dragon was joined by a smaller dragon; one with a black segmented body that included white-framed wings with black metal as well. Its left face was much like Paradox's mask, but its right face was exposed but for a few white lines; even its eye was exposed.

"I attack Black Magician of Chaos with Sin Rainbow Dragon!" Paradox yelled, pointing at the magician as his dragon built up a ball of rainbow energy in its jaws. "Darkness Rainbow!" Just then the dragon blasted a huge shot of dark rainbow energy at the magician, exploding it instantly and making Endymion fly back against the Star Dragon obelisk.

Endymion: LP 400

Paradox: LP 1200

"Such a shame this duel wasn't more of a challenge," Paradox sneered sarcastically, Endymion looking on at him with a total look of hatred. "Oh well; you helped my get a lot done, Endymion, the Master of Magicians. You've earned the honour of perishing along with your world."

"You… bastard…" Endymion huffed out, trying it stand up but being unable.

"Fare thee well, Master. Sin Red-Eyes, direct attack! Darkness Flame Bolt!" Roaring the black dragon the built up a scarlet and black orb of flames in its moth and shot it at Endymion, who screamed out in agony upon impact. Sneering, Paradox disappeared into the white light, followed closely by his dragons.

Ten second later, after the flames burnt out, Endymion put his right hand against the obelisk and managed to stand up, his Duel Disc and cards disappearing. Looking around, he saw that the field magic effect was gone, but its power lingered; everything had turned dark, the sky was still black and starry, and pieces of matter were slowly breaking apart from the trees.

"Such destruction," he said, just before remembering what had occurred before the duel. Staggering over to the top of the stairs, he saw that at the bottom of the stone altar, Kanako lay unconscious and on her side, no real injuries to herself but her form almost lifeless. "Taiyou… my Sempai… I'm so sorry. I've failed you…"

* * *

Standing on the roof of the Poppo Time building, Aki and Luca watched as their Marks returned. However, at that moment Taiyou's form faded out, much to everyone's dismay; and then Taiyou saw once again his form fade into the Dominion of Beasts. Appearing atop the altar, he looked around in total horror as Endymion returned to the top of the stairs, carrying Kanako in his arms.

"Master, what's going on here…?" Taiyou asked, just before seeing the magician lay the girl down upon the stone floor of the altar. Rushing over in terror, he said, "No, Kanako! What happened here…?"

Kneeling down with tears in his eyes, Taiyou held the girl with his hands as Endymion said, "The one called Paradox has already appeared in this world. He ripped Black Rose Dragon's double from Kanako's body, and then his dark powers poisoned this world."

"Is she…?" Taiyou started to ask, seemingly incredibly emotional and shaken up by the experience.

"She is alive, my Apprentice; but she is weak, and if this world continues to crumble then she will only become worse."

"That… bastard…" Taiyou uttered under his breath, his tears twisting into extreme anger. Putting Kanako down, he reeled back and shouted to the sky in total rage, "PARADOX!!!"

Falling forward again, Taiyou began to punch the ground in anger, until Endymion put his hand on Taiyou's shoulder and helped him up. "My Apprentice, the time is not now for such mindless violence. There is a chance… that the fifth Savior can help this world be saved."

"Really?" When Endymion nodded, Taiyou looked back and said, "But alas; it is my job to oversee the fifth summoning. Thus, I will send back somebody to help you here, while I aid Luca."

"Send me Judai and Yubel," Endymion instructed. "Their powers are strongest." Nodding, Taiyou then burst out into light again and disappeared, reappearing where he had been and looking on to Luca.

"My dear, listen," he said, Luca instinctively knowing what he would say. "It has become paramount that the Fifth Savior be summoned; if not for that, the Dominion of Beasts will crumble." With this revelation, even Reggie looked in slight shock, and then the now-standing Judai turned and asked,

"Does Endymion want help evacuating the town?" Taiyou then nodded 'yes', and so Judai's eyes flashed over into Yubel's. Her form then supermised over him and warped away, his eyes changing to the golden Supreme King eyes; and before he too disappeared, he said, "I'll be right back."

"If the only way to save your world is to win, and summon that monster," Luca replied to Taiyou while looking at Reggie, "Then I will do just that. It's my turn. Draw!" Looking at her cards, she pulled one from her hand and said, "I set one card."

"Is that the best you can do?" Reggie asked, looking amused. "My heart goes out to your world, but it won't be saved with moved like that."

"I'm far from done," Luca declared. "I activate a Magic Card: Reversal Question! By activating this, I send all my cards to the Cemetery." All of a sudden the cards in front of Luca, the plant monster and her hand all warped away as she added, "Then I guess if my top card is a Magic, Trap or monster before drawing."

"And if you're right, we switch Life Points," Reggie realized. "I know how the card works, honey."

"I call out a magic card!" Luca said, reaching for her top card. Closing her eyes, she gripped the card strongly and drew, swinging her arm all the way back and opening her eyes. Spinning it slowly into her field of vision, she smiled before flipping her card around to see.

"Incredible!" Reggie declared. "Not only did you call it right, but that card…" All of a sudden, Reggie's Life Points dropped to where Luca's had been while Luca's returned to normal, and then a purple aura consumed Reggie and caught her off guard.

Luca: LP 4000

Reggie: LP 1500

"What just happened?" Lua asked inquisitively, just as a card slid from Luca's Cemetery and she held it up.

"When I played Reversal Question, I sent Black Pendant to the Cemetery," she explained, "causing Reggie to take 500 points of damage after my card switched our Life Points."

"That's awesome," Taiyou said with forced enthusiasm (he did truly find the move well-thought-out, but he was distracted by the peril in his world).

"There's more," Luca stated. "I'll activate my new card, Treasures of Heaven! Both players draw until they hold six cards in their hands." With that Luca quickly snapped up six cards from her Deck, replacing her whole hand; as for Reggie, she already held 2 cards, so she only drew four.

"This must be why the Arcadia Movement was so interested in her," Aki said to Johan, who clearly know of what she spoke. "Luca is completely in tune with her deck."

"I summon Sunlight Unicorn (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)!" Luca then summoned up a blue vortex that released a mostly white unicorn, but with a blue form and blue flames for mane, tail and back.

"With this card, I flip my top card and if it is an Equip Magic Card, I add it to my hand." Drawing her card, she looked at it and then spun it around, revealing the card Horn of the Unicorn, and then placing it into her hand."

"I activate Dual Summon," Luca then declared, "and conduct a second Normal Summon. Come, Trust Guardian (ATK: 0, LV: 3)!"Luca then called forth the came blue-clad pixie that Jack had used earlier, making it clear where he had gotten it.

"A tuner and a non-tuner," Johan noted. "This can only mean one thing…"

"I Tune my Level 3 Trust Guardian to my Level 4 Sunlight Unicorn!" Glowing, the pixie then changed into 3 white orbs that became green rings, the white horse jumping through them as though on a course and thus changing into an outline. This then released 4 white orbs and disappeared, entering the green rings and forming a column of light.

"Emissary of the sunlight," Luca chanted as the light turned golden, "shine down upon this earth to illuminate the path to peace. Synchro Summon! Arise, Ancient Holy Wyvern (ATK: 2100, LV: 7)!" Out of the light then came a long white dragon-like serpent with arm-like wings, a yellow mane, black lines upon its body and red trim for its head.

"This monster gains ATK equal to the difference in our Life Points when my Life Points are higher. That means, it gains 2500 ATK (ATK: 4600). Because this monster is an Angel, it is also unaffected by VENUS," she pointed out, irritating Reggie.

"Then she can send come major damage Reggie's way," Lua realized. "This is awesome! You rock, sis!"

"This duel's yours for the taking," Taiyou said. "Even if the Savior does not appear now, this would still help us to fortify our world; or at least buy time."

"Then I equip my Horn of the Unicorn to Wyvern for 700 extra ATK and DEF (ATK: 5300)!" The monster then roared as a golden spiral horn appeared on its forehead, giving it more power.

"This duel is over, Reggie," Luca stated. "I had some fun, and I hope you did too. Ancient Holy Wyvern, attack Goddess of Light – Tethys!" Roaring and rearing its head back, the dragon-like monster then shot a blast of white lightning-like energy straight at the tall, thin angelic figure on Reggie's field, the girl herself smiling as Reggie looked on with contempt.

"I'm sorry my dear," Reggie stated, turning around a card from her hand. "I'd love for you to win; but I cannot allow it. I discard Honest and add the ATK of Holy Wyvern to that of Tethys for Damage Calculation (ATK: 8200)!" With that the angel shot back a blast of white energy that struck that from the other monster, forcing it back upon the monster and hitting Luca with the shockwave.

Luca: LP 1100

Reggie: LP 1500

"Because my Life Points are lower," Luca stated, "my monster loses ATK equal to the difference; and, by paying 400 ATK, my monster is not destroyed (ATK: 2000)."

"Very well," Reggie stated. "But now you've lost your edge. With no monster able to stop me, this duel is mine, along with your dragon.

"That won't happen," Luca said defiantly.

**Card of the Week – Luca**

**Ancient Holy Wyvern**

**Type:** LIGHT

**Level:** 7

**Family:** [Angel/Synchro/Effect]

**Effect:** LIGHT Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Monsters

If your Life Points are higher than your opponent's, this card gains ATK equal to the Difference. If your Life Points are lower than your opponent's, this card loses ATK equal to the Difference. When this card is destroyed in battle, activate by paying 1000 Life Points. Special Summon this card from your Cemetery.

**ATK/** 2100

**DEF/** 2000

*What is Yliaster truly planning? Only time will tell. Review if you wish.*


	16. Light that Guides the Souls of Justice!

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 16 – Light that Guides the Souls of Justice! Synchro Summon, Savior Faerie Dragon**

In the Dominion of Beasts, Judai ran through one of the villages dressed in the Supreme King's Black spiked armour with his eyes still the golden ones of the Supreme King, being followed by a spirit wearing red and gold armour, with a teal sword and a shield that had a purple crystal at its centre.

"Breaker," Judai instructed, pointing at a burning house that lay at just on the outskirts of the Magical City capital of the Magic Realm, "check that house for spirits and help who you can. I'll get the one next to it."

"Yes, my King," Breaker then stated, the two men running to different houses just afterwards. At the one Judai chose, the wooden store had been trapped by fallen debris, so he pushed his shoulder against it and it collapsed.

"Hello!" Judai yelled into the inferno. "Is anyone in here?" There was no verbal answer, but before one could even be given he saw a young elf-like woman trapped in the corner by burning wood. Noting this, Judai ran closer and grabbed the object (identified as a cabinet), tossing it aside.

"We have to get out of here," Judai stated urgently, getting a terrified nod from the sprite. With that Judai grabbed her, tucking her under his arm, and he quickly spun around and ran back to the door.

Before he could even exit, however (in fact just as he reached it), another burning roof rafter fell and barred the door from exit. Noting this, Judai made a split-second decision and jumped up onto the joist, discovering it still bore weight, and then jumped again up onto the roof.

"Come, Honest!" Judai then instructed, a white light shining out from his armour and taking on the form of the Archangelic figure, looking on with a serious gaze. Handing him the female elf he further instructed, "Get her to safety!"; and with a nod, the angel grabbed her and floated down to the ground.

Then, when they were safe, Judai jumped down onto a patch of grass and spun back around to face the house; then, his eyes glowed and he instructed, "Come on! Marine Neos!" All of a sudden a tall, mostly navy figure with a blue gem on its chest and spikes on its head, legs, shoulder and elbows. "Hyper Rapid Storm!"

Jumping up, the monster then made the gem on its chest glow and release a stream of water, dowsing the flames and backing them off to the ground in a matter of seconds. "Thank you, Neos," Judai then said, the monster disappearing just as he said this.

"Judai," Honest declared, getting the man's attention. "The girl… she's not harmed. You acted quickly."

"Thank you, but there's no time for complements. We have houses to save."

* * *

Back on the roof of Poppo Time, Luca was visibly disappointed by the inability to inflict any real damage; in fact, he plan had horribly backfired when she had taken damage because of her own attack.

Luca: LP 1100

Reggie: LP 1500

Still holding 3 cards in her hand, Luca grabbed one and declared, "I might not have succeeded in dealing damage, but I can guarantee you won't do as much. Permanent Magic: Dark Door! Both players can only attack with one monster per turn." As the card appeared, a black fog appeared around the feet of both players.

"So instead of winning this duel with her offensive move," Taiyou deduced, "she's switching to survival and trying not to lose."

"I set two cards and end my turn," Luca stated, placing a card before her and a card to her left.

"Then in the End Phase," Reggie stated, "The attack strength of Tethys returns to Normal (ATK: 2900, LV: 5). It's my turn. Draw." Looking at her card, she then spun it around and stated, "Because I have drawn the monster Virtue Angel Bach, I may draw another card."

When she pulled her second card, she placed it in her hand and stated, "I activate the effect of Court of Justice, and because I control Zeriel (DEF: 300, LV: 1), I Special Summon Virtue Angel Bach from my hand (ATK: 2700, LV: 6)." From the floating golden ring above them, a light began to radiate that released a white-clad golden angel with rigid wings and holding a large hammer.

"I attack Ancient Holy Wyven (ATK: 2000, LV: 7) with VENUS (ATK: 3300, LV: 8)!" Reggie then declared, pointing her hand at the long white monster while her bronze angel pointed its staff at it and began to form a golden orb of energy.

"Trap Card: Realize Defence!" Luca declared, revealing the card. "When a monster I control is selected as an attack target, I can change it to Defence Position and draw one card!" Roaring, the wyvern crossed its wings over its chest and turned blue while Luca snapped up a card.

"Too bad," Reggie stated, "but due to the effect of Bach, all Angels I control will inflict Penetration Damage!" With a gasp on everyone's face, the monster launched its golden orb at its target, striking it in the wings and creating an explosion.

"No! Luca!" Johan yelled, only to become more relaxed when he saw a mirror-like object appear in front of Luca, the image of a mostly red and purple harlequin in a top hat appearing in the reflection.

"I activate the effect of Hatter in the Looking Glass from my Cemetery," Luca explained, the card sliding out of her Cemetery for her to hold it up to Reggie. "When I would receive Battle Damage from a battle with an Angel-Type monster while this monster is in my Cemetery, I Special Summon this monster and halve my Battle Damage (DEF: 0, LV: 1)."

Luca: LP 450

Reggie: LP 1500

"That's a clever tactic," Reggie stated. "But, when that monster leaves the field, it is removed from play. You can only use that tactic once my dear. And, when that Hatter is destroyed, you receive 1000 Damage"

"I know," Luca countered, "but in addition I can use the effect of Trust Guardian to save Holy Wyvern from destruction (ATK: 950)."

"But even so," Reggie replied, "due to my Permanent Trap, your monster will still be destroyed."

"Don't count on it," Luca retorted confidently, snapping her fingers. "Trap Card: Mirror Shield! When an Angel-Type monster I control would be destroyed by an opponent's Magic or Trap Card effect, I negate that effect and destroy my opponent's monster! By the effect of this card, I destroy Zeriel!"

Grunting, Reggie watched as a purple beam of energy shot out from her face-up card as the one Luca had just flipped changed its image into a mirror. The card then got in front of the crouching monster, striking it and bouncing off to strike the crouching golden angel. "Now, your monsters lose their extra points (ATK: 2800) (ATK: 2400) (ATK: 2200)."

"I set one card and end my turn," Reggie stated. "The time is now, child. Ether defeat me in this turn, or be prepared to hand over your Ancient Fairy Dragon."

"I will not allow that to happen!" Luca yelled, her mark lighting up and triggering Aki's mark to also illuminate. "I can save the Dominion of Beasts and defeat you in one move, and I'll do so now!" All of a sudden the marks disappeared off both girls and the Crimson Dragon's Seal appeared on her back, her top card lighting up in golden light.

"That can only mean one thing," Lua deduced.

"Yes!" Taiyou yelled. "Yes, Luca! Use the power of the Dragon!"

"Draw!" Luca then shouted, pulling the card and reaching for a card in her hand already. "Magic Activate: Synchro Release! I undo the Synchro Summon of Ancient Holy Wyvern. Come: Sunlight Unicorn (ATK: 1300, LV: 4)! Trust Guardian (ATK: 0, LV: 3)!" Glowing brightly, the serpent roared while it changed into a white glow and released the blue-robed sprite and the white unicorn from earlier.

"Because the equipped monster left the field," Luca pointed out, "Horn of the Unicorn returns to the top of my Deck. Thus, I activate the effect of Sunlight Unicorn and add it to my hand." Pulling the card from the top of her Deck, she then declared, "I tune my Level 3 Trust Guardian to my Level 4 Sunlight Unicorn!"

Once again the blue-robed monster changed into three green rings, surrounding the horse and changing it into 4 white orbs. Then, it changed into a column of light as Luca chanted, "The holy light of protection, shine now and become eternal life! Synchro Summon! Ancient Fairy Dragon (ATK: 2100, LV: 7)!" Out of the light then emerged a long, blue dragon with long arms, no legs, glowing butterfly-like wings, gold armour lining its shoulders and face, and green reed-like sections of hair from its tail tip and the back of its head.

"Next, I Summon Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon!" Holding the glowing card up to the sky, Luca then called out the red dragon in its glory and declared, "I Tune my Savior Dragon to Ancient Fairy Dragon and Hatter in the Looking Glass!" Rising up into the air, the red dragon became enormous and translucent to take in the dragon and the mirror monster, changing them into a total of 8 white orbs and aligning them within a green ring.

"The Embodiment of the Sun Goddess, whose heart beats pure, shall now cast her light upon this world," Luca chanted out, the red dragon bursting into a white glow that lit up the sky for miles around. "Guide the souls of justice to this plane! Synchro Summon! Illuminate, Savior Faerie Dragon (ATK: 3300, LV: 9)!"

* * *

Suddenly, back in the Dominion of Beasts, Judai, Honest and Yubel were interrupted in their efforts when they heard a loud noise like an explosion over by the Dragon Temple. Looking over at it, they watched in awe while the only remaining normal obelisk lit up in a brilliant golden glow and shot light into the sky as a shining beam.

"You've done it, my child," Yubel said quietly and, from her tone, quite happily. When it reached the sky, the light shot across the entire sky and lit up the entire starry blackness in a golden glow. When it faded away, the sound of a dragon's roar echoed out just as the sky was once again revealed, the sun shining brightly and the sky blue with white clouds.

"Excellent job Luca," Judai stated, the Supreme King's black armour dissolving off his form. Looking around, he saw the fires begin to self-extinguish and the trees which had started to die off suddenly start to bloom back into life.

However, before he could enjoy it, he heard the sound of a twig snap. Turning to his left, he saw a figure in a red trench coat and white suit-like clothes underneath, and Judai instantly grew tense.

* * *

Looking up to the sky, the entire group was astonished to see the bright golden glow as it released a glowing, sparkling blue dragon. Said monster had a long, serpentine body in many vertically-aligned coils, four large wings like glowing moth wings but mounted and structured like birds' wings, a pair of arms roughly ten feet down from the wings which looked like legs, golden armour along its back and chest, green flowing hair from its head, deer-like glowing antlers, and a face armoured like a golden crown.

"That monster…" Reggie stated as the dragon descended to the rooftop, spiraling around the palace field. "But, due to the effect of VENUS, your dragon loses 500 ATK (ATK: 2800)."

"That means nothing," Luca stated. "I activate the effect of Savior Faefie Dragon! Shining Purity!" Roaring loudly, the dragon spread its wings as Luca stated, "Once per turn, I may destroy all face-up Magic and Trap Cards in play. When I do, I recover 1000 Life Points for each destroyed card; and the controllers of those cards draw 1 card for each of their own cards."

When the glow reached its maximum, the golden ring, the palace, the card producing the black fog and Reggie's Trap Card all began to glow in the same way. First the ring exploded, the fragments turning to dust just before the fog-producing card shattered, the fog fading away. Then the Trap exploded just before the palace was reduced to a glowing form, only to also fade away while Luca's Life Points recovered.

Luca: LP 4450

Reggie: LP 1500

Just as Luca looked on, Reggie pulled three cards from her deck while Luca drew one. "Now, I activate the other effect of Savior Faerie: Once in one turn, I may negate the effect of a monster my opponent controls, and then I may Special Summon a monster from my hand. But, I choose not to summon a monster. Thus, I simply negate the effect of VENUS!" Roaring, the dragon blasted a golden stream of energy from its mouth to surround the bronze angel, weakening it. "Now, the attack strength of Savior Faerie returns (ATK: 3300)."

"Go ahead and weaken my monsters," Reggie retorted. "Trap Card Open: Beckoning Light! I discard my entire hand, and then add LIGHT monsters from my Cemetery to my hand. And equal number to what I discarded." Placing her five hand cards into the Cemetery, Reggie watched as five monster cards slid back out – Zeriel, two each of Archangel Christia, Holy Spirit Parmal and Shining Angel (these three she had just discarded), and, to Luca's chagrin, Honest.

"You may think you've won now, Reggie," Luca replied, "but I've just completed my victory. I activate Exchange!" Placing the card down, Luca watched with a smile while Reggie looked back in total dismay. "You may keep my Horn of the Unicorn, but I'll be taking Honest!" Grunting, Reggie threw Honest to Luca to place into her hand, and Luca in turn threw the Equip Magic Card to Reggie.

"I attack VENUS with Savior Faerie, and I activate the effect of Honest!" Turning the card around, Luca watched as the golden glow of the card illuminated her dragon (ATK: 6800). "Will of the Sun!" Roaring, the dragon formed a ball of golden energy in its jaws and shot it at the bronze angel, striking it and causing an explosion that knocked Reggie back against the roof.

Luca: LP 4450

Reggie: LP 0

As the dragon roared out, it burst out into a golden glow and turned into glowing golden sparkles while the rest of the Solid Vision died down. Then, very concerned, Luca ran over to where Reggie was lying, unconscious, and saw that all of her cards had glowing green Infinity backs on them.

"Is she alright?" Aki asked, her and Johan also running over to where Reggie was. At this time, Taiyou only looked on while he spilled yet again out of this world and into his. As the group crowded around Reggie, they saw that the crystal of her earring had been shattered, with the fragments nowhere to be found.

"She will be fine," another female voice suddenly sounded from behind them, making them all turn. Standing on the next roof over, there appeared a tall, slender woman with pale white skin, black lips, nails and hair, wearing fishnet gloves and stockings with a black trench coat, shirt and knee-length pants. Jumping over to their rooftop, she stated, "But you most certainly will not be."

"Who are you?" Aki asked, getting to her feet and facing the woman, who in turn pulled out a black Duel Disc and strapped it on.

"My name is Hibiki Midori," she explained. "I've come looking for my brother, Koyou."

"Hibiki Koyou?" Luca asked, astonished. "The pro league duelist?"

"He's not here," Johan replied taciturnly, also standing up. "What made you think we would know where he is?"

"Because he went after your friend Judai," Midori replied. "And you know where he is."

"And what makes you think we'd help you with that?" Lua asked.

"Because you want me to find him as much as I do," she replied. "But if you will not tell me, perhaps I can win the answer I seek in a duel."

"I can accept those stakes," Aki replied, pulling out her own red and pink Duel Disc to put on. Her Deck then automatically shuffled, as did Midori's, and then both players pulled out five cards.

Aki: LP 4000

Midori: LP 4000

"I'll take the first turn," Midori stated, pulling a sixth card from her Deck. "Magic Activate: Trade In. I discard the Level 8 Fallen Angel Zerato and draw 2 cards." Taking said card and sliding it into her Cemetery, she pulled 2 cards at once and added, "I set 5 cards and end my turn." Taking her entire starting hand except for one of her new draws, she put it into the slots of her Duel Disc and made 5 cards materialize before her. "Your move, Black Rose Witch."

"I'm not a witch anymore," Aki replied flatly. "Draw." With that she took the card she had drawn and placed it into her Cemetery and held up the card from the centre of her hand. "I activate One for One. By sending a monster from my hand to the Cemetery, I Special Summon one Level One monster from my Deck. Come, Copy Plant (ATK: 0, LV: 1)."

Aki's card then released the form of a cactus-shaped bundle of brown vines which formed a humanoid shape, with branches for arms and a pair of blue eyes where its face would be. "Also, because the monster I sent was Dandelion, I Special Summon 2 Fluff Tokens (ATK: 0, LV: 1) (ATK: 0, LV: 1)." On either side of the existing monster then emerged a creature that was basically a dandelion seed with eyes, and then Aki stated, "I summon Debris Dragon (ATK: 1000, LV: 4)."

"Yusei's monster," Johan realized just as the white dragon with orange orbs, three horns and green armour and membrane appeared before Aki, just as a card slid from her Cemetery.

"When this card is Summoned, I Special Summon one Monster with 500 ATK or less from my Cemetery. Return, Dandelion (ATK: 300, LV: 3)!" In the final remaining zone, there appeared a small animal like a stuffed lion, but with leaves for forelimbs and a mane made of yellow petals. "Next, I activate the effect of Copy Plant, and make its Level the same as Dandelion's (LV: 3)."

All of a sudden, the level of the humanoid plant shot up as the vines reconfigured themselves into the shape of the lion-plant, and then Aki stated, "I tune my Level 4 Debris Dragon to my Level 3 Dandelion and a Level 1 Fluff Token!" The dragon then chanted into 4 green orbs which the two other monsters rose up into, changing into a total of 4 white orbs and becoming a column of light.

"Fell the serpent among the flowers as it strikes," Aki chanted. "The pitch-dark flames shall now sear the souls of wickedness. Synchro Summon! Arise, Wild Rose Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" AS everyone looked on in amazement, a long dragon burst from the light whose long, serpentine body was composed of dark purple and black rose petals. Its huge wings were made of red petals and tipped with a rose each, and a mane of red petals trailed behind its head. Finally, its thorny tail whipped around and it roared, creating strong wind.

"Because Dandelion was sent to the Cemetery again," Aki informed, "it will not Special Summon 2 more Fluff Tokens (ATK: 0, LV: 1) (ATK: 0, LV: 1)." After the two new seeds appeared, Aki stated, "I Tune my now Level 3 Copy Plant to my 3 Level 1 Fluff Tokens!" The vine monster then changed into 3 green rings, each one surrounding a seed and changing it into a white orb. All six objects then formed a column and burst into light.

"Synchro Summon! Splendid Rose (ATK: 2200, LV: 6)!" There then appeared a large rose along the ground, and from it there appeared a blond figure clad in a green and black body suit. "Next, I activate the Field Magic, Black Garden!" Placing the card onto her Field Zone, Aki surrounded the field in a grove of dark green thorny vines and black roses, making Midori look around suspiciously.

"I direct attack with Wild Rose Dragon!" Aki yelled, making her dragon build up a dark red ball of flames in its jaws; but, before it could launch them, Midori snapped her fingers and a Trap Card flipped up.

"Permanent Trap: Dark Fog! Once in one turn, I may send one DARK Angel-Type monster from my Deck to my Cemetery to negate an opponent's attack. I send Fallen Angel Superbia to the Cemetery." Holding up the card before sliding it into the slot, a black fog formed directly in front of Midori. When the dragon shot its red flames, it dispersed the fog but did nothing more.

"That effect is only once per turn, as you stated," Aki replied. "I direct attack with Splendid Rose!" The monster standing on the rose then jumped up into the air to lash out at Midori, but then Midori snapped her fingers again and another card appeared.

"Trap Card: Hellfire! By discarding one card, I destroy a monster declaring an attack and inflict damage to my opponent equal to its ATK." Aki then watched as Midori slid her card into the Cemetery and a wall of flames rose up, incinerating the monster before the flames bathed Aki as well.

Aki: LP 2900

Midori: LP 4000

"I set 2 cards," Aki stated, putting the two remaining cards in her hand into slots. "I end my turn."

"Draw," Midori stated, looking at her card for all of a second before stating, "I set one card and end my turn."

"Draw," Aki then said, turning her card around instantly. "I Summon Botanical Leo (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)." Suddenly, Aki called up a yellowy lion-like monster with root-like feet and a red flower instead of a mane. "Due to the effect of Black Garden, my monster's points are halved (ATK: 800), and a Rose Token is Special Summoned to the opponent's field (ATK: 800, LV: 2)."

Suddenly, vines shot out from the field to bind the limbs of the monster, while a red rose shot up on Midori's field. "Next, the Permanent Trap, Rose Flame! When a Plant-Type monster is Special Summoned to my opponent's field, they receive 500 Points of Damage." With the card up, it shot flames at Midori and made her cover her eyes.

Aki: LP 2900

Midori: LP 3500

"Next, I activate the effect of Wild Rose Dragon," Aki stated. "By removing your Rose Token, I Special Summon one Wild Rose Token in Defence Position (DEF: 1200, LV: 3)." The rose before Midori then turned pitch-black and the stem's thorns grew larger, and then the flames again struck Midori.

Aki: LP 2900

Midori: LP 3000

"Due to this Special Summon, Black Garden halves your monster's Points and gives me a Rose Token (DEF: 600) (ATK: 800, LV: 2)." There then appeared on Aki's field a similar rose to the one there had just been. "Now, my Botanical Leo gains 300 ATK for each of my face-up Plants (ATK: 1700). I attack the Wild Rose Token with Botanical Leo!" The plant-lion then shot forward and slashed through the existing plant.

"Very well," Midori stated.

"I direct attack with Wild Rose Dragon!" With that the dragon again formed a ball of red flames in its jaws; but with a smile, Midori snapper her fingers and flipped her newest card.

"Trap Card: Fallen Angel's Descent! When my opponent direct attacks, I pay half my Life Points to Special Summon 2 DARK Angels whose Levels are those of the attacking monster. Return: Fallen Angel Superbia (ATK: 2900, LV: 8)! Fallen Angel Zerato (ATK: 2800, LV: 8)!" All of a sudden a blast burst of energy rose up, spawning a pair of monsters as Aki looked on in awe.

Aki: LP 2900

Midori: LP 1500

The first one was a jar-like monster with brown feather wings, an orange face, a feathery skirt and black talons for arms. The other monster was a blue-skinned humanoid with red membranous wings that extended onto its chest, a helmet with devil horns, a jagged sword and grey, brown and red battle armour. "Your monster's points are now halved due to my Garden (ATK: 1450 (ATK: 1400)," Aki pointed out, brambles surrounding them and another two roses appearing before Aki (ATK: 800, LV: 2) (ATK: 800, LV: 2).

"Yes, but now Superbia's effect lets me Special Summon one Angel-Type monster from my Cemetery when it is revived. Come, Fallen Angel Ede Arai (ATK: 2300, LV: 5)!" From the jar top of the monster then arose a tall, devil-like creature in white robes whose wings were black. "And because you cannot summon another Rose with your field full, my monster's power remains."

"Well, I still attack Zerato with Wild Rose Dragon!"

"Not so fast! Due to the effect of Dark Fog, I send Fallen Angel Asmodeus from my Deck t my Cemetery, and negate the attack." The black fog then kicked up again as Midori threw out another card, the flames striking it and doing nothing but remove the fog.

"Then I end my turn," Aki stated, a triumphant smile on Midori's face.

"Then the secret of Judai's location is mine," Midori stated. "Draw!" Looking at her card, Midori then stated, "I release Fallen Angel Zerato to Summon Fallen Angel Desire (ATK: 3000, LV: 10)." Turning into blackness, the blue-skinned monster gave way to a new monster with red-feathered wings, battle armour with two-spiked shields on each hand, and glowing yellow eyes. "And I activate its effect: I lower its ATK by 1000 (ATK: 2000) and send Wild Rose Dragon to the Cemetery."

As Aki looked on in surprise, the monster in front of Midori produced a shot of blackness that struck her dragon, turning it into black fog and making it fade away. "I know that with that field in play," Midori stated, Your Dragon cannot be destroyed by effects. But, sending it to the Cemetery is not destruction. Next, I activate Forbidden Chalice which I've set; I negate Desire's effect and give it 400 extra ATK (ATK: 3400)."

"This isn't good," Johan stated. "Aki's got all her monsters in attack position."

"I attack your Rose Token with Desire!" Swinging its arm, the newest monster exploded one of the roses and made Aki cover her eyes while her Life Points fell almost to nothing.

Aki: LP 300

Midori: LP 1500

"Trap Card Open!" Aki yelled as soon as the previous move resolved. "Shock Wave! Since my Life Points are lower than my opponent's, I destroy one face-up monster and inflict damage to both players equal to its ATK. Thus, I destroy Desire!" Midori watched in awe while her monster suddenly exploded, the force striking both women at once.

Aki: LP 0

Midori: LP 0

"It's a stalemate," Lua realized. "Aki had no way of winning, so a draw became her only option."

"You didn't win," Aki replied. "I don't have to tell you where Judai is."

"No, you don't understand," Midori stated urgently. "I'm not trying to harm Judai; I'm trying to save him!" With everyone looking on in shock, Midori added, "My brother wants Judai's life."

"Why?" Luca asked. "Judai's done nothing to him."

"Because of what Judai did as the Supreme King," was Midori's shocking answer.

* * *

On the top of the dragon altar, Taiyou looked up at the five obelisks. The only obelisk which had previously been its original form, the fairy dragon spire, had indeed changed into a dark blue structure whose body included both dragons now.

As Taiyou could sense, Endymion then came up behind him and stated, "Our world has been spared a grim fate, and your friend is recovering in the city. As for you, I must congratulate you; you have given Luca the drive to summon the last Savior, and thus you have completed your proficiency. You are no longer my student; you are my Knight."

"Then I must thank you for this promotion," Taiyou responded, turning around. "But, I also owe gratitude to Judai for his help. Where is he?"

"I do not know," Endymion said solemnly. "He helped evacuate the Villages, but that was the last I had seen him."

"Master Endymion!" the voice of another figure issued, making both spirits turn to face the source of the sound. Looking to the side, they saw the form of the archangel-esque Honest, who then stated, "Judai has been approached and a challenge issued on his life."

"What?" Taiyou asked in dismay. "Take me to him; I must help save his life."

"Go, my Knight," Endymion instructed. "Judai is a sacred person, the only carrier of the Darkness of Justice still alive. He must not perish!" Nodding, Taiyou turned and ran down the stairs of the temple, then off into the forest as Honest faded out.

***

Minutes earlier, on the opposite end of the forest, his yellow eyes glowing, Judai stared back at the figure that had approached him and asked, "What do you want of me, Koyou?"

"How quick you are to forget my goals, Haou," the man replied harshly. "I never forgot you, or what you did."

"I'm not proud of what I did," Judai then replied, "But I did what was necessary to protect the balance."

"You did what was necessary to cause pain and satisfy your own avarice and bloodlust," Koyou snapped. "You must perish for your sins." Pulling out a Duel Disc, Koyou strapped it on and activated it, stating, "If you win, I'll leave you be; lose, and your blood spills into this soil."

"Do you really think Judai would agree to such terms?" Yubel asked, she and Honest glaring back.

"If he has any honour at all," Koyou replied, "he will atone for his wicked acts."

"Enough preaching!" Judai snapped, pulling out his Duel Disc. "You have a challenge!" He then shoved his Duel Disc onto his arm, both Duel Discs shuffling the players' cards and giving them five.

"DUEL!"

Judai: LP 4000

Koyou: LP 4000

"I shall lead," Koyou stated, pulling a card. "I summon Elemental Hero Airman (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)." Watching in anger, Judai saw him call forth a blue-skinned warrior dressed in grey, black and white armour that included two wing-like fans on its back and a blue glass visor.

"You're using Elemental Heroes," Judai replied. "You talk of my acts while you simply use my own monsters against me."

"I'm using the rightful heroes whose names are not smear with the blood on innocence," Koyou replied. "When this monster is summoned, I may add one HERO from my Deck to my hand. I select E-HERO Ocean." Holding up the card as it slid from his Deck, he took two cards from his hand and placed them down. "I end my turn, tyrant."

"I am no tyrant," Judai replied. "I am not King anymore, and if I were I would be a rightful King."

"A tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny," Koyou quoted, not noticing Honest slip out of sight. "Kisama no turn."

"Then I draw!" Judai yelled, holding up a card. "Magic Activate: Fusion! I fuse Featherman and Burst Lady!" Judai then revealed all three cards and brought up his green-feathered warrior and his red-clad woman, fusing them in a vortex into the odd-looking monster with the dragon's head and one wing. "Come: Flame Wingman (ATK: 2100, LV: 6). Battle!"

Grunting, the new monster pointed its dragon's head at the opposing monster, lighting it in fire and making it explode while the flames leapt onto Koyou. A green glowing Infinity Symbol then briefly flashed on the ground while Koyou looked on in anger.

Judi: LP 4000

Koyou: LP 1900

"Such aggressive tactics," he spit. "Nothing less from the heartless murderer that dares call himself a King. When Placido told me to destroy those who aided the Signers, I knew you should be the first to die."

"Stop the bullshit and duel!" Judai yelled back.

"Very well. Trap Card: Hero Signal." Raising up the card, Koyou caused it to produce a spotlight-like light with the sharp-edged "H" on it over Judai's head. "Come: Forestman (DEF: 2000, LV: 4)." In a crouching position before Koyou then appeared a human-like figure whose clothing was merely brush-like matter over its feet (as boots) and its groin (as a war-skirt). Its body was mostly green, but its right arm and chest were made of wood with many irregular spikes.

"So you can summon Heroes from the Deck easily as well," Judai observed. "I'd expect nothing less of a pro duelist; I just didn't expect your E-HERO Deck initially. I set 3 cards and end my turn."

"Draw!" Koyou yelled, snapping up a card from his Deck. "I activate the effect of Forestman: Once per turn, during the Standby Phase, I add one Fusion from my Deck to Cemetery to my hand." Suddenly, a card slid from his Deck and he grabbed it, holding it up with a card from his hand. "I Fuse Ocean and Forestman."

The green monster then rose up in front of a vortex and was joined by a humanoid blue figure with a fin on its head and a trident in its hand. When they spiraled together, they produced a huge figure with a white body almost carved of marble, with blue gems on shoulders and head and glowing yellow eyes. "Behold: E-HERO the Earth (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)."

"So this is the legendary E-HERO of Hibiki Koyou," Yubel noted, arms crossed while she watch Koyou continue.

"I Summon Elemental Hero the Heat (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)." Koyou then placed down a card that spawned a yellow, red and white figure with painted flame-like patterns. "Next, for each of my E-HERO monsters, it gains 200 ATK (ATK: 2000)."

"This isn't good," Judai realized just as Honest and Taiyou arrived at the edge of the clearing, both stopping to watch the event.

"I attack Flame Wingman with the Earth!" Koyou commanded, causing his huge warrior to jump forwards and punch through the much smaller humanoid warrior, exploding it and hitting Judai with the shockwave.

Judai: LP 3600

Koyou: LP 1900

"Trap Card: Hero Signal!" Judai yelled, producing the same search light that Koyou had. "Come: Clayman (DEF: 2000, LV: 4)!" In a crouching position before Judai then emerged his dark grey stone figure, who grunted as Koyou observed the situation.

"Good," he stated. "It's nice to see the high and mighty ruler cowering like the weak murderer he is."

"Just shut up and finish your turn," Judai snapped, making Koyou grin in amusement.

"Very well. I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Draw!" Judai yelled, looking at his card for all of a second. "I activate the Magic Card, Angel's Gift!" With an extremely fast motion Judai pulled three cards from his Deck, and took the two monsters among them and placed them into the Cemetery.

"I activate the effect of Cross Porter. Because I sent it to the Cemetery, I may add Neo-Spacian Ground Mole from my Deck to my hand." Pulling a card from his Deck, he revealed it and then slapped it sideways.

"Come: Ground Mole (DEF: 300, LV: 3)." Out of the ground then dug the drill of the mole creature, which folded around as the mole creature itself appeared and became blue while it crouched. "Next, Permanent Magic: Mirage of Nightmare!" Placing the card beside himself, he stated, "I end my turn."

* * *

"It seems that David and Reggie were not powerful enough to eliminate the Signers," Placido observed in a melancholy tone. "And, to make matters worse, Paradox has acquired a stronger dragon than anything previous."

"This mess of yours is getting far too difficult to maintain," Jose scolded. "You're fighting two enemies at once; both Paradox and the Signers and crew."

"I agree," Lucciano added "We cannot continue with our split focus. Either we stop devoting so much to the Signers to fight Paradox, or we stop watching Paradox."

"That presents dangers all its own," Placido pointed out. "If Paradox is allowed to acquire too much power, we're all in grave peril. But… on the flip side, perhaps we can use the Signers to help us combat Paradox."

"There's no way the Signers will trust us now," Lucciano pointed out. "We've put them through too much."

"But, they have something powerful enough to combat Paradox: the Three Phantom Demons under Yubel's guard."

"How do you intend to get them from her?" Jose interrogated. "She has more power than the three of us combined, and she is allied with almost as powerful – perhaps more powerful en masse – warriors, both here and in the Spirit Realm."

"By using him," Placido stated with a smile, pointing down at the surveillance orb at the duel between Koyou and Judai. "Playing upon Judai's alienation will force him to break off on a solo mission, as is his nature; then Yubel will have only one or two allies, and she will be more vulnerable."

"If you want to conduct this suicide mission," Lucciano replied harshly, "Then you must conduct it yourself. Jose and I are done devoting valuable resources to your insane ambitions."

"Very well," Placido responded, standing up. "I can get the Demons on my own, and then we will use them collectively – but if I must get them alone, I will control them alone."

"Very well," Jose stated. "But if you fail, you will hand over to me your Machine Emperor." The weight of these words was very clear to Placido, but he simply smiled back darkly before turning and leaving.

"Trust me when I say: you will not be disappointed," Placido concluded, stepping out and leaving Lucciano and Jose to stare down at the viewing orb amongst themselves.

* * *

"Koyou blames Judai for what Haou did?" Johan asked of Midori back at Poppo Time, in the main room. The group had been joined by Jack and Carly, who had been working on coffee tables, as Midori told them of Koyou's motives and plan.

"He believes that Judai is the dark one," Midori explained. "The Supreme King was a being of piece and goodness; the only explanation is that the evil lies within Judai."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Aki retorted. "Judai told us about when he separated from Haou and dueled him. How is that possible then?"

"Judai was most likely hallucinating, and experienced falsities that seemed real. He would have thought it was true, even though it was all in his head."

"And how do you know all this?" Jack asked suspiciously, the burning question on everyone's mind now out in the air.

"Because Koyou and I are warriors for the Darkness of Justice."

**Card of the Week – Luca**

**Savior Faerie Dragon**

**Type:** LIGHT

**Level:** 9

**Family:** [Dragon/Synchro/Effect]

**Effect:** "Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon" + "Ancient Fairy Dragon" + 1 non-Tuner Monster

Once per turn, activate by selecting 1 Monster your opponent controls. Until the End Phase, its effect is negated, and at this time you can Special Summon 1 Monster from your hand whose Level is equal to or lower than that of the selected monster. Once per turn, you can destroy all face-up Spell and Trap Cards. If you do, recover 1000 Life Points for each card destroyed, and both players draw 1 card for each card destroyed. During the End Phase, return this card to the Extra Deck and Special Summon 1 "Ancient Fairy Dragon" from your Cemetery.

**ATK/** 3300

**DEF/** 4000

*What is Yliaster truly planning? Only time will tell. Review if you wish.*


	17. Elemental Hero Showdown!

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 17 – Fate of the Supreme King! Elemental Hero Showdown, Judai vs. Koyou**

Back in the Dominion of Beasts, under the now-clear sky, Judai stared at his attacker, Hibiki Koyou, from behind his monster and Magic/Trap Cards. Koyou, meanwhile, had an uncaring and hateful look in his eyes.

"Soon, Judai," Koyou stated. "Soon you'll be dead and the rightful Supreme King will rise!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Judai asked hostilely.

"You will see," was the sly reply. "Draw!"

"During your Standby Phase," Judai stated, "the effect of Mirage of Nightmare allows me to draw until my hand contains 4 cards." Pulling cards from his Deck one by one, Judai looked at his cards and saw the ability to make a move; but only if he survived this next turn.

"Very well," Koyou stated. "I activate Fusion Recovery, and I return Fusion and Ocean to my hand." When the two cards slid from his Cemetery, he held up the Magic Card with a card from his hand and stated, "I Fuse the Heat and Lady of Fire!"

Appearing in front of a vortex behind Koyou, his field monster with the flame patterns appeared beside a female warrior in a mostly-white body suit and the two spiraled together, releasing a huge, hulking figure with a coal-like gem on its chest and white armour with flame-like patterns and hair. "Come, E-HERO Flame Blast (ATK: 2300, LV: 8)."

"Next, I Summon Ocean (ATK: 1500, LV: 4)." With a low grunt, the blue fish-like warrior then appeared before Koyou and he declared "Battle! I attack Ground Mole with Ocean!" Jumping forward, the monster swung its trident into the mole-like monster; but just before that the mole assembled the drill over its head and spun it, causing both monsters to warp off the field. "What?"

"When Ground Mole battles," Judai explained, a card appearing in both his hand and Koyou's, "I may return both monsters to their owners' hands."

"Then I attack Clayman with Flame Blast!" Koyou yelled, pointing his hand at Judai as his huge red and white monster formed a fireball in front of its chest and then shot a column of fire at the stone warrior.

"Trap Card Open!" Judai yelled. "Hero Barrier! With an E-HERO in play, I negate an attack against my monsters one time only!" A swirling blue shield then formed in front of his crouching warrior, taking the full brunt of the flames before it disappeared. "Sorry, but I'm not taking damage so easily."

"That's what you believe!" Koyou declared. "Reverse Card Open: Instant Magic, Fusion Release! I undo the Fusion of Flame Blast! Return: E-HERO the Heat (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)! Lady of Fire (ATK: 1300, LV: 4)!" As it burst into flames, the large red monster disappeared and revealed the two monsters from earlier – the female with long dark blond hair in a mostly-white body suit, and the figure in yellow, white and red armour.

"Because I Control 3 E-HERO monsters, the Heat gains 600 ATK (ATK: 2200). Therefore, I'll have him attack Clayman!" Jumping forward, Koyou's monster swung a fist into the chest of the stone monster, causing it to burst into flames shortly before exploding.

"I direct attack with E-HERO the Earth!" Koyou then instructed, causing his massive white warrior to jump up into the air and land in a crouching position over Judai; however, a mostly-grey warrior with long white hair appeared in its path and took the brunt of the fist before disappearing.

"I activated the effect of Necro Gardna from my Cemetery," Judai explained. "By excluding this monster, which I discarded with Angel's Gift, I negate one opponent's attack."

"Then I'll finish off by attacking directly with Lady of Fire!" Koyou stated, his larger warrior jumping back to his field before his female warrior formed a fireball in her hands and threw it at Judai, at which time he responded by flipping one last card.

"Instant Magic: Emergency Rations! I send Mirage of Nightmare to the Cemetery and recover 1000 Life Points!" Judai then smiled and Koyou looked on in anger while Judai's only other card in play disappeared. The fireball then struck him, causing some discomfort but not doing much damage.

Judai: LP 3300

Koyou: LP 1900

"_Now Judai can keep all the cards he discarded from Mirage of Nightmare on his next turn,"_ Taiyou realized. _"He'll now have enough cards to fight back."_

"It seems that my will to fight will keep me from dying," Judai snarked, further aggravating Koyou.

"Your will to fight killed thousands of people," Koyou hissed back. "You've forever tarnished the name of the Supreme King, and when I win I'll make sure it is returned to its proper glory!"

"You won't take my soul!" Judai snapped back.

"Then I guess I'll have to rip it from you," Koyou deduced, sneering while Judai growled. "I end my turn; thus, during the End Phase, the effect of Lady of Fire activates. You take 200 Damage for each of my E-HERO monsters!" Once again the female threw a fireball at Judai, this time making him cover his eyes before impact.

Judai: LP 2700

Koyou: LP 1900

"Kisama no turn. Let's see if you have anything left to use."

"I'll show you that I do!" Judai yelled. "Draw!" The instant he saw his top card, Judai spun it around and declared, "I activate Take over Five! When I activate this card, I send the top 5 cards of my Deck to the Cemetery!" Flipping up five cards – revealed as E-HERO Neos, Take over Five, Necro Darkman, Sparkman and Bubbleman – he placed them into the Cemetery and sneered, making Koyou look on in wonder.

"Magic Activate: Over Soul!" As he held up the card, his Cemetery Slot glowed and a purple "O" shot off the card, causing a card to slide from his Cemetery. "With this, I Special Summon E-HERO Neos from my Cemetery (ATK: 2500, LV: 7)!" As the card appeared, Judai called up his white warrior with blue gem on chest, blue head spike, and black hands and feet; then, he held up another card.

"Instant Magic: Super Fusion! By discarding my Ground Mole, I Fuse together the Earth and Neos!" With Koyou looking on in awe, he watched as a swirling black cloud appeared above the field, his white monster and Judai's white monster jumping up to the spiral and fusing. Then a bolt of lightning shot down and struck in front of Judai as he yelled, "Rise up, Elemental Hero… Neos Knight (ATK: 2500, LV: 7)!"

As the cloud cover disappeared, the lightning disappeared and revealed the new monster in front of Judai. Said creature was very much like his last one, but with many differences. Its shoulders had been extended and adorned with blue gems like its chest, and it had armour over its legs. Its horn now extended forward and was joined by two ear-like structured and an orange ponytail. Finally, it had a double-ended blade and a rounded shield, and its whole body had sections of red trim.

"You dare to use such a card in my presence?!" Koyou accused. "A card made from the blood of the innocent, used on monsters from Justice!"

"This card is responsible for saving the entire world," Judai responded. "All twelve dimensions were to be destroyed if Yubel had used this card; but I stopped that cataclysm and fused her spirit into mine, and in doing so I saved everyone."

"Enough of your defensive bullshit!" Koyou spat, not believing a word Judai had said. "You're nothing but a murderer and a disgrace to Justice!"

"Then I'll show you the truth!" Judai responded. "Due to Neos Knight's effect, it gains half the attack strength of the other monster used to Fusion Summon it; in this case, that's an extra 1250 (ATK: 3750). Go, Neos Knight! Attack Lady of Fire!"

"Reverse Card Open!" Koyou declared. "Remnant Memory! I exclude Woodsman and Airman from my Cemetery, and in return I take no Battle Damage this turn!" As he said this, the two cards slid from his Cemetery while the white warrior jumped forward, swinging its sword through his female warrior and shattered her.

"Even so," Judai stated, "Neos Knight may attack twice in any Battle Phase, so I'll have him destroy Heat as well!" With that the warrior jumped over laterally, landing in front of the other monster and slicing it in two, leaving Koyou defenseless.

"You'll pay for my Heroes' lives," Koyou threatened.

"We'll see," Judai responded. "I set two cards and end my turn."

"Draw," Koyou declared, pulling a new card and reaching for one already in his hand. "I activate Miracle Fusion!" With Judai looking on tensely, he extracted Forestman and The Earth's cards from the Cemetery and declared, "I exclude the Fusion Material Monsters required, and I Fusion Summon… Elemental Hero Gaia (ATK: 2200, LV: 6)!"

With the ground erupting in front of Koyou, he watched as a large brown, grey and black monster with a robust stone form emerged from the grounds, steam erupting from holes on its arms and legs rooted in the soil. "When this monster is Fusion Summoned, I halve the ATK of an opponent's monster and add it to my monster until the End Phase."

Looking on with gritted teeth, Judai responded, "Trap Card: Alchemy Cycle! I reduce the ATK of Neos Knight to 0 for this turn!" A dark purple aura then surrounded Judai's monster as Koyou's thrust its fists into the ground, creating a rift over to the white warrior. "Thus, your monster gains 0 ATK (ATK: 2200)."

"_I see,"_ Taiyou declared. _"If Judai's monster is destroyed by battle now, he'll draw a card instead of simply being out a monster."_

"I attack Neos Knight with Gaia!" Koyou declared, his monster raising its fists up over its head and locking hands. "Continental Hammer!" With that the monster brought its fists down and shamsed the white warrior, forcing Judai to step back to avoid being struck as well.

Judai: LP 500

Koyou: LP 1900

"Due to the effect of Alchemy Cycle," Judai explained, "When a Monster I control affected by this card is destroyed in battle, I draw one card!" Judai wasted no time in quickly snapping up his card as Koyou looked on with a smirk.

"Maybe, but you're down to only 500 Life Points. An attack from anything will see you defeated in an instant. I set one card and end my turn." Placing a card down, he then chided, "Prepare to lose the Supreme King's soul."

"Draw!" Judai declared, snapping up a second card and looking at it very quickly. "Magic Activate: Silent Death! I Special Summon a Normal Monster in Defence Position; return, Neos (DEF: 2000)." With a white glow, the original white warrior of Judai's returned in a crouching position as Judai declared, "Next, I activate Elemental Storm!"

"What?" Koyou asked, completely in shock at the play while Yubel and Taiyou smirked.

"I destroy an opponent's monster whose ATK is less than that of Neos! Be gone, Gaia!" All of a sudden a storm emanated from the jewel on the white warrior's chest, striking the opposing rock monster and making it explode. "I end my turn."

"Draw!" Koyou declared, looking at his card for all of a second before declaring, "I activate Desperado Manager! When I hold one or more cards in my hand, I can draw 3 cards and return two cards from my hand to the top of my Deck." Snapping up three cards, he took the one already in his hand and one he had drawn and put them back on top.

"_Why would he be putting the only monster in his hand back on top of his Deck?"_ Taiyou pondered.

"Magic Activate: Fusion Pass!" He declared, pulling five cards from his Deck and showing them. "By sending the top 5 cards to the Cemetery, I Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster whose Materials are among the discarded. Among them are Elemental Heroes Voltic and Ocean, so come: Absolute Zero (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!"

With a sudden flash of wind and snow, there appeared a tall ice-armoured warrior with a black suit on underneath, a cape and a gold crown on its head. "Next, I activate another Miracle Fusion! I Exclude Voltic and Ocean, and Fusion Summon The Shining (ATK: 2600, LV: 8)!"

With a huge bright flash, Koyou called up a white, gold-trimmed warrior with a sun-like spiked ring on its back and a red gem where its face would be. "For each excluded E-HERO I own, The Shining gains 300 ATK, and I have six excluded monsters (ATK: 4400)!"

"Two powerful Fusion Monsters in one turn," Yubel pondered worriedly. "If Judai receives a hit now, the game is over.

"I attack Neos with Absolute Zero!" Shooting forward, the arm of the warrior produced a blade that turned the white warrior in front of Judai into solid ice, shattering it and causing Judai to cover his eyes from the shards.

"Trap Card: N-Signal! Come, Flare Scarab (DEF: 400, LV: 3)!" In a crouching position before Judai then emerged a black, purple and red human-like insect with long limbs, wings and a y-shaped horn on its head.

"Then I destroy that monster with The Shining!" Rising up into the air with its arms crossed, the other monster began to glow brightly until it caused the insect-humanoid to explode, leaving Judai with nothing.

"I end my turn," Koyou declared, "and now I have the chance to end you! It's high time I beat you and made you pay for your slaughter of innocent Duel Spirits! Yubel, soon you will serve me!"

"I'll never submit to you!" Yubel hissed back. "I'd sooner serve the King of the Underworld!"

"So that's it!" Judai realized, getting Koyou's attention. "You're after the Supreme King's power and you're legitimizing your quest as something noble."

"You honestly think I'm after the power?!" Koyou gasped, half-laughing and half shocked. "Yes, I'm the selfish one! You killed thousands of people for a card, and I'm selfish! How long have you been lying to yourself? Stop it!"

"I'm not lying to anyone," Judai hissed back.

"Then you're an idiot, whose going to lead this world to ruin! If your death will save this world, then I'll kill you. And if that makes me selfish, then so be it; but I am still a better man than you can ever be!"

"I disagree!" Judai responded. "Draw! Magic Activate: The Spellbooks in the Pot!" With that both Judai and Koyou snapped up three cards and Judai stated, "I Summon Elemental Hero Edgeman (ATK: 2600, LV: 7)!" Slapping the card down upon the tray, Judai called back up his large golden warrior as he explained, "Due to the Necro Darkman in my Cemetery, I Summoned this monster without sacrifice."

"I'm familiar with that Hero's effect," Koyou stated.

"Are you familiar with this?" Judai asked. "I equip Impact Flip to Neos, so when I destroy a monster by battle my opponent must send one card from their hand to the Cemetery. Go, Edgeman, attack Absolute Zero!" Jumping up into the air, the gold warrior extended the blades on its arms and its wings and shot straight through the icy monster, exploding it and causing Koyou to grab his top card and throw it away.

Judai: LP 500

Koyou: LP 1800

"When Absolute Zero is removed from the field," Koyou stated as an icy wind kicked up and frost began to form on the gold warrior, "I destroy all monsters my opponent controls!" Suddenly the gold warrior began to crack and then exploded from the ice, forcing Judai to throw away both cards.

"Due to the effect of Impact Flip," Judai replied, "Both players draw one card when the equipped monster is destroyed!" With both Judai and Koyou pulling another card each, Judai took his two cards and slapped them down. "I set two cards and end my turn."

"Draw!" Koyou declared, sneering as he reached for a card in his hand. "I activate Parallel World Fusion, and I return my excluded Airman and Ocean to the Deck to Fusion Summon… Elemental Hero Great TORNADO (ATK: 2800, LV: 8)!"

All of a sudden a huge whirlwind kicked up and formed a tall monster in white and orange armour, blue eyes and a black cloak, and it grunted loudly. "Due to those two Heroes returning to the Deck, The Shining decreases by 600 (ATK: 3800). But, that won't matter! I attack directly with Great TORNADO!"

"Instant Magic: Burial from a Different Dimension!" Judai declared. "I return Necro Gardna to my Cemetery, and Forestman and Voltic to yours. Thus, Shining loses more ATK (ATK: 3200). Next, I exclude Necro Gardna again, and I negate the attack!" The fist of the newest monster was met by the form of the dark grey warrior, who vanished after being struck.

"I Direct Attack with the Shining!" Koyou yelled, his monster rising up again and glowing as he put the two monsters back into his Cemetery; but as soon as he did, Judai flipped up his only other card, much to Koyou's chagrin.

"Trap Card: Life Force Barrier! When I have no other cards on the field to in my hand, I pay Life Points until I have 100 left. Then, I take no damage of any kind for 3 turns!" With his Life Points falling almost to nothing, Judai was surrounded by a glowing aura of energy that prevented the radiance of Koyou's monster from harming him.

Judai: LP 100

Koyou: LP 1800

"I set two cards and end my turn," Koyou stated, looking on with a dark look in his eyes. "I must applaud you for your fighting spirit, but you really should just give up. You have noting left with which to help you, and in three turns you are guaranteed to lose. Stop carrying this blood, and surrender your spirit."

"I'll do no such thing," Judai replied. "I've already told you, I will keep the spirit of the Supreme King and I will help the Signers with it."

"You've done nothing but cause harm from the beginning!" Koyou spat. "You harmed all your so-called friends, committed genocide and turned your back on your remaining allies; and all for the sake of power. I know what a lone wolf is like; but you're just a violent, feral animal who deserves to be put down."

"Shut the fuck up!" Judai yelled. "I don't need to listen to this shit anymore! Draw!" Flipping around his card, Judai yelled, "I activate Hope of Fifth! With this the only card on my field or in my hand, I return 5 E-HERO monsters from my Cemetery to my Deck, shuffle and draw 3 cards!"

The cards of Edgeman, Necro Darkman, Bubbleman, Featherman and Burst Lady shooting out from the Cemetery, Judai took them and quickly shuffled them into the Deck, pulling three cards. Then, two Magic Cards also slid out and he held them up, explaining, "Next, since my Take over Five cards did not go to the Cemetery this turn, by excluding them, I draw 2 cards!"

With five cards now in his hand, Judai held up one and declared, "I activate the Field Magic, Neo Space!" Slapping the card onto the Extra Zone, Judai called up the rainbow field with pulsating colours before holding up another card. "Next, I activate Miracle Contact! I return Ground Mole, Flare Scarab and Neos to the Deck, and I call up Magma Neos (ATK: 3000, LV: 9)!"

In a quick burst of light, the three cards slid from Judai's Cemetery and a huge ball of flames appeared above him, spawning the brown-green monster with lava right hand and clawed left; the made Koyou look on in dismay. "For every face-up card, Neos gains 400 ATK, and there are 6; plus, it gains 500 ATK due to Neo Space (ATK: 5900)."

"That's a powerful monster," Koyou observed.

"I'm not done," Judai stated. "I activate Miracle Fusion! I exclude Flame Wingman and Sparkman, and I Fusion Summon Shining Flare Wingman (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" With the green and red monster and the gold and navy warrior rising up, Judai spun them together in a vortex to call up his silver glowing warrior with bladed wings and sharp armour. "This monster gains 300 ATK for each Elemental Hero in my Cemetery; that's 2 (ATK: 3100)."

With the translucent images of the sword-bearing white, red and blue warrior and the clay warrior appearing behind Judai, he watched as his newest warrior glowed even more strongly before Judai added, "Next, due to another monster being in play, Magma Neos gains 400 more ATK (ATK: 6300)."

"What is Judai doing?" Taiyou asked under his breath. "He has a monster that can easily defeat Koyou, but he's going overboard. Why?"

"I activate Neos Quake!" Judai yelled, his stronger monster forming an orb of rainbow energy and throwing it at Koyou's reversed cards, making them change accordingly. "Now, when I attack, you cannot activate card effects."

"No!"

"Now, I attack Great TORNADO with Shining Flare Wingman, and I activate Battle Fusion! During Damage Calculation, my Monster gains ATK equal to yours (ATK: 5900)! Shining Orb Shoot!" Extending its wing blades and jumping into the air, the monster formed a green orb of energy in it hands and throwing it at the orange and white warrior, making it explode and creating a shockwave that struck Koyou.

Judai: LP 100

Koyou: LP 0

"Shining Flare Wingman, activate your effect!" Responding obediently, his monster descended down to where Koyou was. The man then screamed defiantly as the monster created a huge glowing field that created a blast wave, throwing Koyou back against the wall of the field.

"What's he doing?" Taiyou asked suddenly, getting the answer almost as quickly. When he realized what was going on, he ran into the field and straight at Judai, who made no notice.

"Magma Neos! Super Heat Meteor!" Grunting, the larger warrior raised its right arm to the air, creating a huge burning rock which it was prepared to throw; but before he could, Taiyou was upon Judai and grabbing him by the arm.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Taiyou then yelled straight to Judai, who looked back with a feral, inhuman look of rage on his face. "Stop it; you've already won!"

"Get off me!" Judai yelled back, shoving Taiyou right to the ground and turning back to Koyou. "Neos!" Responding to its name, the monster finally threw its burning rock into the body of the white monster, producing a massive explosion and raining fire upon Koyou's side of the field.

"Stop this Judai! Please!" Taiyou half-yelled half-pleaded, his friend not hearing him because of his overflowing rage. When the fire disappeared and the Solid Vision died down, he was left standing there opposite the now-unconscious Koyou, panting and showing no human emotion.

"Koyou!" the female voice of Midori suddenly yelled out from within the trees, the sound of human speech finally getting through to Judai. The woman then ran out from the forest and straight to her brother, bending down and cradling his head and shoulders in her hands. Turning to Judai, she yelled at him, "What is wrong with you?! How could you do this?!"

"Who do I need to explain myself to you?" Judai asked angrily, his eyes finally changing from the Supreme King's back to his own. "Your brother attacked me, threatened my life, slandered all that I've done, and I'm the one who's wrong?! Fuck this shit!" Turning around, Judai started to walk back into the forest; but then Taiyou asked,

"Where are you going?" Giving Taiyou a dark glare when he stopped and turned to look at him, Judai responded,

"I don't fucking care, as long as it's away from all of you." Turning back to the forest, he quickly made his way into the forest, Yubel closing her eyes in shame and disappearing. Standing up, Taiyou then walked over to the Hibiki siblings and bent down to speak to them.

"I'm so sorry for what my friend just did," he explained, "but Judai's right; your brother was far from innocent in this whole ordeal. He wanted to take Judai's soul to gain the power of the Supreme King."

"What?" Midori asked, completely surprised. "Koyou never wanted anything like that; he and I were both very loyal to the Supreme King. We knew that Judai had done unsavory things, but we forgave him because he was delusional. He never told me that he wanted to take his soul."

"We can take him to the City to recover," Taiyou stated, standing up. Midori then stood up and held up Koyou's limp form, and the two figures then began the walk towards the city.

* * *

On the roof of the Poppo Time building, the group awaited the return of Yusei and the others. When Judai reappeared on the opposite side of the roof, Aki was the first to notice, and by letting everyone know she made sure that Judai was properly welcomed back. However, when Aki attempted to approach Judai, he simply walked away with a melancholy look on his face, stepping down the staircase of the roof to the inside.

"That's not like Judai at all," Luca realized, acting incredibly worried at what had happened. When Yubel reappeared seconds later in spirit form, Luca turned and asked, "Didf something happen to Judai."

"No; Judai is fine," Yubel replied in a somber tone. "But… Hibiki Koyou did not fare so well. Judai beat him to within an inch of his life; and I'm willing to bet that if I hadn't killed the duel and Taiyou hadn't approached, he would have killed him."

"What did you just say?" Johan asked in total shock, looking back at the spirit with the same look as everyone else. "Why would he do something like that?"

"Because Koyou made him remember the things he did as the Supreme King. Judai is still haunted by what he did; he's had nightmares about it more than once. He never acted violently before, but this time he was threatened with death."

"Where's Taiyou?" Aki asked, getting an immediate reply from Yubel.

"He's still in the Dominion of Beasts, taking Koyou to recover. Midori went with him." The conversation was then ended by the sounds of D-Wheels pulling up, and everyone saw from below the D-Wheels of Yusei, Crow and Kyojo pull up, with a fourth one being towed behind Kyojo's.

About a minute later, Crow came up the stairs to the roof with Yusei and Kyojo slightly behind, carrying the unconscious form of David Rabb on their shoulders before lying him down next to Reggie Mackenzie. "We've got ourselves some severe enemy actions afoot," Kyojo stated, taking off the sunglasses he had on.

"And we've got a psychotic Judai in our midst," Lua stated judgmentally, prompting his sister to slap him upside the head.

"What my brother means is," she cut in, "Judai went off the handle in a Duel with Hibiki Koyou, and almost killed him."

"What, say that again," Yusei replied, a confused look on his face. "Koyou had a match at the Duel Stadium that started about half an hour ago. We saw the fans and part of the screen when we went by."

"Wait, what?" Aki asked Yusei nodding to confirm and the other two backing him up. "If he's here, who did Judai duel?"

"I have no idea," Crow replied. "But somebody should let him know."

"I can do that," Yusei offered. "He and I get along with the most stability of the group." The rest of the group seemed to agree, because after him nobody had any objections of nominees. With that said, Yusei turned and walked down the steps, finding himself in the upper area of the building, where the bedrooms were.

The third door on the right, which led to Judai's room, had the door a few degrees ajar and the light on inside. Opening up the door, Yusei found Judai lying on his bed staring at the ceiling, arms folded under his head his Deck and Duel Disc lying on his end table. Judai didn't say a word when he saw Yusei enter the room; he merely looked over to the man, who closed the door and made sure it was shut all the way.

"I hear your duel in the Dominion of Beasts got a little bit intense," Yusei clarified, "and that you got a little bit aggressive towards the end there. Anything the matter besides that?" Judai then shook his head in an obvious 'no', and Yusei asked, "Then why are you being so distant?"

Sitting up on his bed, Judai turned to Yusei and looked back at him with a pair of empty eyes, devoid of any sort of passion or energy, and he answered, "It was what Koyou said… not his general point, but a specific point he made." When Yusei's expression became incredibly confused Judai added, "He mentioned how I've treated my friends."

"What exactly did he say?"

"Primarily that I'm too much of a lone wolf," was Judai's rather taciturn answer. Elaborating, Judai continued by saying, "Some of the people who felt my wrath in the alternate dimensions were my friends – being sacrificed in my duel with Brron, being lost against me as the Supreme Kings – and after all that I began to isolate myself."

"You're not an isolated person," Yusei countered. "You're the one who brought us together with the Summoners, with your friends… how after all that can you make such a comment about yourself?"

"I suppose you're right," Judai concluded, standing up.

"I have a favour to ask of you," Yusei stated suddenly, getting Judai's attention. "Do you have any Anti-Synchro Cards in your collection?"

"I believe there are a few," Judai replied. "Why do you want them?"

"I don't; I want you to duel me with them." Seeing Judai's lack of understanding Yusei added, "With the latest attacks of the Infinity Group, I feel it's only a matter of time until the leaders of the organization come after us. And as Lua demonstrated, our strategies are so Synchro-dependent that the Machine Emperors completely undermine our decks."

"You want practice against an Anti-Synchro Deck," Judai realized, getting a nod from Yusei in reply." Then I'll make another variant of my Deck with an Anti-Synchro Theme." Turning over to a shelf in the corner of the room, he pulled out a box from in between two books and opened it, revealing a handful of cards. Fanning through them, Judai picked some cards from them, but then put them back.

"What exactly are you doing?" Yusei asked, prompting Judai to put the box back between the books and pull out a different box from another shelf. Opening it up, he pulled out a Deck and stated,

"I have an old Deck that used some cards that were anti-Synchro. It was a gift from a fan in the United States, where Synchro Monsters are less popular and there are more Anti-Meta cards."

"So… what? You're going to harvest a few cards from that Deck and add them to your Deck?" When Judai smiled in reply, Yusei looked back and stated, "Then that sounds like a duel."

"I'll be with you in one hour's time," Judai stated. With that, Yusei turned and stepped out of the room, closing the door and leaving Judai alone. Seconds later, however, Yubel materialized where his bed was, and Daitokuji's spirit appeared in a corner of the room.

"It's good to see Judai-kun acting a little bit more happy-nya," was Daitokuji's observation.

"You need to remember that no matter what you do," Yubel informed, "your friends will be willing to forgive you. Duel Academia did, Aki did, Jack did, and nobody else has any issues with you."

* * *

"It's strange," Kiryu stated, talking to the group now that Yusuriha and Jack had joined the discussion and Yusei had returned. "Yesterday and this morning, I ended up getting angry at you guys for no reason at all, so I left to blow off steam. But by an hour later, I couldn't even remember what I was so mad about."

"Blackfeather Dragon's incident was never really repeated," Jack observed, "so it stands to reason that something was definitely afoot."

"Wait a minute," Yusei stated, snapping his fingers and getting everyone to look at him. "Remember that guy we saw after the duel between Crow and X?" Getting strange looks back from the others he explained, "There was a guy in some weird outfit who was tagging along with the duel; then there was a flash of light and he was gone."

"Hey, you're right," Kyojo stated, his memory suddenly jogging. "That guy looked an awful lot like the masked figure they talked about on the news."

"I bet it was," Crow inferred. "But… how does that tie in with what happened with Blackfeather and Kiryu."

"I have no idea," Kiryu stated, "but I'm willing to bet that whoever this guy is, he's got something to do with Placido."

"I never heard mention of him," Yusuriha mentioned, "but without a name I can't say anything with certainty."

* * *

In the city of Endymion, Taiyou stood at the door of a bedroom-like area within a large building. In the room, Midori stood next to the unconscious form of Koyou, lying in bed with his Duel Disc still on his arm. "Endymion wishes to see me at the High Council Chambers," Taiyou explained.

"Very well," Midori replied, looking down at her brother. "At least he's safe now." Opening the door, Taiyou stepped out and shut it behind him, leaving the Hibiki siblings alone within the room.

Turning around, Midori walked over to the corner of the room and grabbed a strange glowing orb. As she did so, however, she did not notice her brother's eyes quickly open up, fixing on her position. When she started to turn back, he slowly closed them and remained still.

As she stepped back to Koyou's side, the woman raised the glowing orb, thinking, _"Perhaps, Koyou, I can speak into your mind to tell you I'm here for you."_ With that she began to lower the gem to the forehead of her unconscious brother, hoping that it would simply sink into his head to establish a psychic connection.

Instead, with the orb just above his head, Koyou's arm snapped up and grabbed Midori by the wrist, surprising her. The woman could only watch while her supposedly incapacitated brother opened his eyes and stood up, saying, "You're so naïve, my dear."

Surprised by the sound of Koyou's voice, Midori looked back in even greater shock. It was deeper than normal, more sinister, and certainly more forceful. Letting go of Midori's wrist, his eyes began to glow a dark golden colour and suddenly a force field of light blue formed around her, preventing her from moving.

"_Koyou... why would you...?"_ Before she could complete the thought, her brother's form burst out into white light and began to change. He became taller – about six and a half feet tall – as his form became more muscular, and the forms of huge shoulder pads and ribbons formed. Also, his hair became longer and wilder, with two locks extending to the floor.

When the light died down, it revealed the form of Paradox, dressed in his regular clothes and with his golden eyes staring back at Midori in a dark sneer. The woman herself was horrified, and even more so when he grabbed her by the throat with his left hand and held her up. The pressure on her throat kept her from breathing, and very soon she fell unconscious.

"Hey, Midori," Taiyou's voice suddenly issued from behind the door. "I forgot to give you something." Knowing the voice would reveal him, Paradox threw the woman face-down on the bed, the force field disappearing, before he disappeared into a black fog. As it completely vanished, Taiyou opened the door and gained a look of terror.

"Oh my God! Midori!" he yelled, running over to the girl and flipping her over. Her eyes closed and her neck bruised, it instantly became clear what had happened; and with Koyou nowhere to be seen, he knew who the doer was. His face becoming angry, he put the girl back down and ran out of the room, now eager to get to the council.

* * *

Back at the Old Momentum, the doorway reopened and Paradox stepped through, his eyes starting to glow so he could see in the near total blackness. Picking up his mask off his belt, he put it on and his eyes again glowed through it while he reached for his Duel Disc.

Pulling a card, he held up his newest Sin monster and the Momentum reactor suddenly began to glow more violently, the shining orange energy almost lighting up the underground room. As soon as the reaction was done, he returned the card to his Deck and sneered underneath his mask.

* * *

Sitting in his office in downtown Neo Domino, Placido was busy typing up a document on his computer. When he finished it, he read within his mind what he had written:

"_Dear sir or Madam,_

_You are hereby invited to attend the Neo Domino Gala on the evening of Saturday, February 25__th__, 2010, on the invitation of Placido, the director of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau. The event in question will be a black tie affair, and no guests will be accepted without this invitation as an entry. There will be no cost of admission and no extras._

_Public Security Maintenance Bureau_"

Pressing a button, the computer began to copy the text file which Placido had just completed and attach it to e-mails which were sent to various addresses across the internet. Looking at the guest list, he noted that none of the Signers, Summoners, or Judai and his crew were listed – and that was the point.

"_When they find out about this event,"_ he had calculated, _"they will send somebody undercover in order to find out what I plan to do. But they will not go unnoticed. Whoever they send will lead me right back to Judai and Yubel, and there I can get my hands on the three Demons."_

Taking another look at the registry, he saw the name Mutou Yugi written out among the guest lists' names. He knew that Yugi would not be in attendance, because he had retired and gone off to live a more secluded life; but perhaps that name would draw the attention of the Group, and Paradox. After all, Placido wanted to defeat both in one try.

"_Very soon my friends, we will have completed that which we set out to do..."_

**Card of the Week – Judai**

**Elemental Hero Neos Knight**

**Type:** LIGHT

**Level:** 7

**Family:** [Soldier/Fusion/Effect]

**Effect:** "Elemental Hero Neos" + 1 Soldier-Family Monster

**Chapter/Anime: **This card cannot be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon. This card's ATK is increased by half the ATK of this card's Fusion Material Monsters, except "Elemental Hero Neos". This card can attack twice during each turn's Battle Phase.

**OCG/TCG: **This card cannot be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon. This card's ATK is increased by half the ATK of this card's Fusion Material Monsters, except "Elemental Hero Neos". This card can attack twice during each turn's Battle Phase. If this card battles, and Battle Damage to your opponent becomes 0.

**ATK/** 2500

**DEF/** 2000

*Has Judai finally gone off the deep end? Only time will tell. Review if you wish.*


	18. Placido's True Intentions

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 18 – Placido's ****True**** Intentions, ****Demons**** vs. Machine ****Emperor****Wisel**

At dusk, Yusei and Judai were standing opposite each other on the top of the Poppo Time Building, Judai holding up a Deck in his hand while Yusei held his Duel Disc on his arm already. "Are you ready for me, Yusei?" Judai asked, looking on with a competitive smile.

"Bring it on, Judai!" Yusei challenged, placing his Deck into the Duel Disc and causing it to shuffle. Judai, smiling at this phrase, placed the Deck in his hand into the Duel Disc where it too automatically shuffled. With that both players pulled a full hand of five cards, staring at each other with competitive smiles.

Judai: LP 4000

Yusei: LP 4000

"Let's to, Yusei," Judai declared, reaching for his deck. "It's my turn. Draw!" When he pulled up his card, he held up it and two cards from his hand and declared, "I Fuse Sparkman and Necro Darkman!" A swirling vortex then appeared behind him that released Judai's gold and navy warrior, as well as a red warrior with crimson eyes and grey skeleton-like armour.

"Appear now, Dark Brightman (ATK: 2000, LV: 6)!" When the two monsters spiraled together, they released a grey-skinned warrior in red, blue and gold armour who had on a visor with a gold spark on it. "Next, I set 3 cards and end my turn," Judai informed, placing the remainder of his hand into the slots on the tray.

"Judai's started the game from a very advantageous point," Johan observed. He, the Signers, Lua and Kyojo stood to the left of the players, watching while they made each and every move without acknowledging them.

"Draw!" Yusei declared, snapping up his top card and reaching for one in his hand. "I activate One for One! By sending by sending Bolt Hedgehog in my hand to the Cemetery, I Special Summon the Level One Tuning Supporter from my Deck (ATK: 100, LV: 1)." As Yusei put his card into the Cemetery, his little yellow robot appeared on his field; then, he reached for another card.

"I Summon Junk Synchron (ATK: 1300, LV: 3)!" Placing his card down onto the tray, Yusei's monster was joined by his orange robot-like warrior with pull chord, and then a card slid from Yusei's Cemetery. "Due to the effect of Junk Synchron, I Special Summon Bolt Hedgehog from the Cemetery (DEF: 800, LV: 2)."

Right beside the other two cards, Yusei placed the one from his Cemetery onto the tray and called up his small furry animal with bolts along its back; and then he explained, "For this Synchro Summon, I treat Tuning Supporter as a Level 2 Monster. I tune my Level 3 Junk Synchron to my Level 2 Bolt Hedgehog and now Level 2 Tuning Supporter!"

Pulling its pull chord, the orange monster changed into three white orbs that became green rings, surrounding the other two monsters to change them into four white orbs. "The clustering shouts will become a silver arrow and split the air," Yusei chanted as his four orbs formed a vertical column. "Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Come, Junk Archer (ATK: 2300, LV: 7)!"

From the light, Yusei's orange warrior armed with bow appeared and opened its face to reveal its eyes; but, as it did, Judai sneered. "Counter Trap: Hero Discord! With an E-HERO Fusion on my field, I negate an opponent's Synchro Summon and exclude the summoned monster!"

Without warning, the monster warped off Yusei's field without any trace, leaving Yusei looking on in surprise. "Yusei's not off to a good start at all," Jack realized. "He got suckered by Judai's play and now his Synchro Summon is for naught."

"Due to the effect of Tuning Supporter, I draw one card," Yusei stated, slowly and calmly pulling his card from his Deck. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Draw!" Judai declared, snapping up his card and turning it around instantly. "Come: Edgeman (ATK: 2600, LV: 7)!" With that Judai's gold bladed warrior instantly appeared and Judai reminded, "I summon this card without release due to the Necro Darkman in my Cemetery."

"Trap Card Open: Slip Summon!" Yusei declared. "When my opponent Normal Summons a monster, I Special Summon one Level 4 or lower monster from my hand. Come: Shield Wing (DEF: 900, LV: 2)!" Slapping his last card onto the tray, Yusei summoned up a crouching pterosaur-like green monster with feathered wings that took up a crouching pose and screeched.

"I Attack Shield Wing with Edgeman!" Judai then stated, his warrior extending its blades and rushing Yusei's monster at full speed. It cut glowing slashes across the monster without destroying it; however, Yusei still felt the stings of the attacks.

Judai: LP 4000

Yusei: LP 2400

"And, just like Edgeman," Judai informed, "Dark Brightman inflicts Penetration Damage. Battle!" The grey monster then jumped into the air and shot a bolt of black lightning at the crouching monster, making the electricity bounce off and strike Yusei. The man stood his ground, but he looked back in dismay.

Judai: LP 4000

Yusei: LP 1300

"At the end of the Battle Phase," Yusei declared, "I activate Recharge Damage! I draw three cards for two successful attacks!" Yusei then reached for his Deck and grabbed three cards in one go, putting then into his hand.

"I end my turn," Judai stated. "That means Slip Summon that Shield Wing returns to your hand." Just like it had appeared, Yusei's monster warped off the field as the card reappeared in Yusei's hand. "Come on Yusei; I know you can do better than that!"

"It's my turn," Yusei declared. "Draw! I Special Summon Level Warrior (ATK: 300, LV: 4)!" With a blue vortex opening up, Yusei summoned through it his red warrior with brown ape, three stars along its form and a fourth appearing over its head. "Next, I Summon Hyper Synchron (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)!"

With that done, he also summoned out a small blue robot with twin tanks on its back, a grey face with elfin ears, and folded yellow chest plates. "I Tune my Level Four Hyper Synchron to my Level 4 Level Warrior!" Opening up its chest, the monster released four white orbs and exploded; these orbs formed green rings that surrounded the other monster.

"The clustering hopes will become a new shining star," Yusei then chanted, his monster changing into 4 white orbs and then a column of light. "Become the path its light shines upon. Synchro Summon! Take Flight, Stardust Dragon (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" Out of the light then took the form of Yusei's huge white dragon, its wings enveloping the field and its body glowing white.

"Due to the effect of Hyper Synchron, the Dragon-Type monster Synchro Summoned using this Tuner Monster gains 800 ATK (ATK: 3300)!" As the white aura died down, the dragon growled as its power rose; however, second later, it disappeared in a flash of light that blinded everyone, and then reappeared behind Judai.

"I activated the Permanent Trap, Conspiracy of the Piano Tuner," Judai explained, a sneer on his face. "When my opponent Special Summons a Synchro Monster, I take control of said monster." With Yusei's expression tense, he reached into his hand and stated,

"I Set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Not so fast!" Judai yelled out, the white dragon suddenly sparking. "The Monster Synchro Summoned using Hyper Synchron is excluded during the End Phase." Roaring out, the dragon continued to spark until it warped off the field; when Yusei saw his monster disappear, he sank down onto his knees in shock.

"That was a dirty move on Judai's part," Jack grunted. "A real duelist would have faced that monster head on, not stolen it so nobody could use it."

"Judai…" Yusei gasped out, still in shock while he got back on his knees. "Why… why would you do that to Stardust? We both had a bond with that dragon!"

"You think Placido will have such compassion?" Judai asked coldly, staring back with a dark expression. "If this is what I'm doing, then just imagine what he'll do!" Everyone was amazed to hear these words from Judai, and Johan was even a little depressed-looking. "Draw!" Judai then declared.

"You're just going ahead with this?" Johan yelled in question, confused at Judai's harsh actions.

"I'm here to do what Yusei asked me to," Judai replied simply, turning back to Yusei and declaring, "I attack your Life Points directly with Edgeman!"

"Trap Card Open!" Yusei declared as the golden warrior made its way over to him. "Holy Barrier – Mirror Force! I destroy all of my opponent's attack position monsters!" The warrior then bounced off a transparent barrier that appeared, making it explode before a beam of energy struck the other monster and destroyed it as well.

"Permanent Magic: Mirage of Nightmare!" Judai declared, unphased. "I end my turn."

"Draw!" Yusei declared, pulling another card from his Deck. Before he could make a move, Judai's card started to glow and he drew four cards. "I Summon Drill Synchron (ATK: 800, LV: 3)!" Holding up his card, Yusei called out a small ball-shaped monster with drill arms, a drill on its forehead and tread legs.

"Next, I activate the effect of Bolt Hedgehog and Special Summon it from the Cemetery (ATK: 800, LV: 2)!" A blue vortex then emerged to release the monster, and then Yusei pointed at his set card and flipped it. "Permanent Trap: Limit Rebirth! Return, Tuning Supporter (ATK: 100, LV: 1)!"

With the card sliding out of his Cemetery, Yusei held up the card and returned the small robot to play, watching Judai look on in contempt. "I Tune my Level 3 Drill Synchron to my Level 2 Bolt Hedgehog and Level 1 Tuning Supporter!"

The round monster suddenly spun its drills around, making each one emit a green ring before the monster exploded. They then formed a vertical column which the two other monsters rose up into, where they turned into three white orbs and then a column of light.

"The Clustering forces will become a steel drill to pierce the earth," Yusei then chanted, holding up a new Synchro Monster. "Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Break it apart, Drill Warrior (ATK: 2400, LV: 6)!"

Out of the light then emerged a bulky brown armoured warrior with a drill for a right hand, a yellow scarf, a white face and a blue gem on its chest. Yusei then drew a card from his monster's effect and then smiled at what he drew. "Ready, Judai?"

"Bring it on," Judai challenged, sounding more hostile than last time.

"I equip Synchro Armour to Drill Warrior, which gives it 500 extra ATK (ATK: 2900). Battle! Attack Judai directly!" Lunging forward, the monster started up its drill and struck Judai with it, making him stagger on his feet and look back with an aggravated expression.

Judai: LP 1100

Yusei: LP 1300

"Instant Magic: Emergency Rations!" Judai declared, flipping up his set card. "I send Mirage of Nightmare and my lingering Conspiracy of the Piano Tuner to the Cemetery to recover 2000 Life Points!" Both of the cards in front of Judai then dissolved, leaving Judai with no cards as his Life Points shot up.

Judai: LP 3100

Yusei: LP 1300

"Damn, that was almost an instant win for Yusei," Crow stated. "Oh well; he'll get Judai in the coming turns."

"That's not the case," Judai replied. "I'll show you that I'm not backing down!"

"Then prove it by taking your turn!" Yusei dared the redhead, who simply stared back tensely.

"Very well," Judai stated. "Draw!" Looking at the card in his hand, he spun around a card and declared, "I activate Spellbooks in the Pot, allowing both of us to draw 3 cards." With that card on the tray, both Yusei and Judai picked up 3 cards in quick succession; and then Judai held up another one.

"I activate Fusion Recovery, and return Sparkman and Fusion to my hand!" When they two cards slid back out, Judai held up the Magic Card and two cards he had just drawn; then he declared, "I Fuse Featherman and Burst Lady!" The two monsters then appeared in front of the vortex and fused, creating the green and red monster with one wing and a dragon's head.

"Behold: Flame Wingman (ATK: 2100, LV: 6). Next, I Summon Sparkman (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)!" Judai then placed the other card he brought back onto the tray so he could call up the blue and gold monster to fight with his. "Next, I activate Skyscraper!" Judai then opened his Duel Disc's Field Zone so he could call up the city-like field on the roof, leaving all the monsters standing in the centre square.

"Go, Flame Wingman, attack Drill Warrior!" The green and red monster then jumped forward, opening the dragon's head to shower the drill monster in flames. "When an E-HERO attacks, it gains 1000 ATK it is has less power than its target (ATK: 3100)." However, unlike what Judai had expected, the monster stood strong.

Judai: LP 3100

Yusei: LP 1100

"Sorry," Yusei replied, "but monsters equipped with Synchro Armour cannot be destroyed by battle!"

"Then I guess the time has come to put an end to this!" Judai yelled, holding up a card to the sky that made a huge whirling cloud above the duel. "Instant Magic: Super Fusion! I discard from my hand Elemental Hero Clayman, and I fuse my two monsters!" Jumping up into the air, Judai's two monsters met below the clouds and then spiraled into them, a lightning bolt raining down.

"Appear now: Shining Flare Wingman (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" When the lightning died away, the glowing silver monster that Judai had used often appeared behind him, and his Cemetery glowed. "Shining Flare Wingman gains 300 ATK for each E-HERO in my Cemetery, and right now I have 8 (ATK: 4900)!"

"No! With that much attack power… Yusei…!" Crow gasped out, not liking the idea that Judai had defeated his friend so easily. However, instead of attacking, Judai growled lightly and turned around before saying,

"This duel is over, and it's my victory." With that he started to walk away and the Solid Vision died down; Yusei fell on his knees in shock at the experience, while everyone else looked on in complete confusion and disgust. Just then, Jack ran up behind Judai and grabbed him by the wrist, spinning him around and then picking him up by the collar.

"What the fuck was that about?!" the blond bellowed to the agitated Judai. "How can you be so disrespectful to such a close friend?"

"If you're going to talk about disrespect, you need to look right at Yusei," Judai snapped back. "He showed today a fatal flaw in the strategy of this group; too much sentimental attachment to that dragon. When it disappeared, his will broke and he stopped dueling; he just stared playing around. That's disrespect."

Even though Yusei seemed to agree, bowing his head in shame, Jack tried to take a swing at Judai for his comment. Instead of that, however, Judai caught the fist instantly and spun Jack's fist around, the pain making him drop Judai. Giving a disgusted glare to the group, Judai simply spat, "I have had it with the disrespect I'm shown by this big imbecile and the rest of you miserable prats!"

Once again Jack tried to punch Judai, and once again he failed; Judai punched him in the stomach before he could even swing his own fist, and then he punched Jack in the head to knock him over. "I don't need this kind of hostility. If it's come down to this, then I'll fight Placido on my own!"

Judai then proceeded to walk over to the side of the building and jump down into the streets below, where he grabbed his D-Wheel and turned it on. Before he left, though, he heard a voice yell, "Hey wait!" from the top of the building. Seconds later, Johan jumped down and ran over to where he was. "If you're going it alone, then I'm with you."

Nodding, Judai offered Johan a spare helmet so he could get on the back of the vehicle. Once there, Judai revved the engine and then gunned the accelerator, making the vehicle peel out and ride off into the setting sun, towards Neo Domino.

Back up on the roof, Jack brought himself to his feet shakily and then bluntly stated. "Good riddance. We won't need that prick on our team in order to get anything done."

"You're one to talk Jack!" Aki yelled at the man, making him turn and face his accuser. "You've done nothing but treat Judai badly since he joined our ranks."

"Seriously man!" Crow yelled, raising his fist. "You need to respect the man if you want him to stay around."

"Says the man who wailed on him at the warehouse," Aki accused, causing Crow to turn away and also bow his head in shame. "More than one of us have treated Judai with more than a little discontent, and up until now he's put up with it all."

"I have to agree with Jack on this one," Lua boldly stated, the slap he received from his sister not quenching his point. "Judai hasn't done anything useful for us."

"How can you say that after he took that attack for you, and then saved you from drowning?" Luca criticized. "Judai's the one who brought us together with his friends and with the Summoners. He's the one who helped us defeat Darkness, the one who revived Kiryu, and the one who gave Yusei the morale to defeat Godwin."

"Let him go for now," Kyojo stated disdainfully, a somber expression on his face. "Going after Judai right this minute will only make things worse; if we give it some time, we'll actually get somewhere." To this, everybody nodded in agreement.

***

A few days later, Judai and Johan were stationed just down the street from a large section of the Tops which had been cordoned off for Placido's event. Having found out who was on the list, they devised a plan to slip into the party unseen. Looking at huge crowd of people and the multiple security guards, Judai activated Yubel's eyes and then split her from his body.

"Are you ready for this mission?" Judai then questioned of her, getting a confident grin in reply. Wrapping her wings around herself, Yubel changed into a glowing orange form and cast it out, revealing the form of a tall, tan woman with an amber gem on a chain below her hairline, a flowing black dress with puffed shoulders, striking green eyes and fine silvery hair.

From his pocket Judai then pulled a fake ID card and an invitation to the party, which he handed to Yubel's disguised form. "There's a service entrance around the back," Johan explained. "Judai and I will get in that way, and we'll meet you in the underground."

"Very well," Yubel replied, her voice much softer and younger-sounding due to her disguise. She then turned away and started to walk towards the party, her documents in hand and a smile on her face. She got to the doorway quickly, where she was greeted by a man in a white-jacketed suit.

"May I see some identification please?" he asked, prompting Yubel to hand him the ID card and the invitation. On the ID card was the picture of her disguise and a name that matched the altered invitation; but then the man looked on his checklist of guests and stated, "You're not on this list, ma'am."

"Then there must be some mistake," she replied, acting genuinely surprised. "Why would my name be on this invitation if I wasn't invited?"

"Well, I see your point ma'am," the man replied, handing her back the identification. "I'll let you in, but don't cause any trouble or you will regret it."

"I won't trouble you at all, sir," Yubel innocently said, slipping her identification into a pocket on the side of her dress. "Good evening." With that Yubel slipped into the party, the plan having been executed perfectly. Seeing all the people inside a single, large hotel building, she waked towards that building and entered, where she saw a huge number of people.

"Excuse me sir," she asked of an official-looking man by tapping him on the shoulder. "Could you by any chance tell me where the toilets are?"

"Certainly, ma'am," the man stated kindly. "They're down that hallway on the right, just before the stairwell."

"That's perfect, thank you," she said courteously and with a smile. Turning, she walked through the crowd to where the hallway he mentioned was; then she stepped all the way to the end, and opened the door to the stairwell. Once the door was closed, she followed the stairs down to the basement floor, at which time she got out of the stairwell and into a large empty area about 100 feet tall. Normally, it would be a subway junction; but for the party, this section was closed off, so the room was empty.

"What are we doing here, madam?" a suave voice suddenly asked from behind Yubel, making her turn around to see a tall, thin man with a medium build dressed an a similar suit to the others; but he had a red left eye, and his right eye was covered by an eyepatch.

"I'm sorry," she stated. "I got off at the wrong floor."

"I don't believe you," the man flatly replied. "You're in a disguise; I can see it. You're a Duel Spirit." Surprised that he had been able to tell, Yubel was caught off-guard when he drew a sword from a scabbard next to his pant leg and shot a burst of energy from it, striking her in the shoulder and spinning her around and onto the ground.

Satisfied, the man put his sword back and waked towards the fallen woman, getting there quickly and turning her over. When he did, he was shocked to see that her shoulder had worn away to reveal two spikes and some dark red scales on the arm. He realized too late who it was; because Yubel picked him up by the ankle and flung him back.

"You have a keener eye than I had previously thought, Placido," Yubel stated in her normal voice, getting her feet and then changing back to normal in a burst of orange energy. "And now I learn you can sense Duel Spirits as well; I'm impressed."

"That's certainly an interesting impression to have of me, after what I've been doing to your partner as of late," Placido stated, not noticing movement above him among the steel I-beams of the structure. "I do apologize for that; but you see, I had no choice. He stood in my way."

Suddenly, Placido heard a noise and jumped back a split second before Judai fell to the ground with a steel pipe in his hand, which would have hit him in the head. He also jumped aside as Johan came down with a similar weapon, leaving him with no injuries and seemingly without any reaction. "I see the two of you managed to enter as well."

"You need to train your guards better," Judai replied smugly, he and Johan both standing up and dropping their pipes. "It wasn't even a fight to get past them."

"Thank you; I shall add that to my list of things to accomplish as Director," Placido replied stoically. "Now if you'll excuse me, your best course of action is to leave and spare yourself aggravation and misery."

"Such an interesting demands to make for someone in the submissive position," Judai taunted, sneering as the other two mirrored his expression.

"What nonsense are you spouting on about?" Placido asked, not amused as he thought they were simply wasting his time.

"You see, if we go up to the party now, we'll have to admit we got past your security staff," was Judai's reply. "That's more harmful to your reputation than anything else which can happen."

"Very well; but I refuse to condone violence with guests at this party. We'll settle this in a more civilized manner." At that moment, he pulled out a Duel Disc and strapped it to his arm, activating it and causing a glowing Infinity Symbol to appear on the dome.

"Let's go Johan," Yubel stated, looking at him and smiling confidently. "Let's show him the power of chaos." With that Yubel disappeared in a burst of light; and when it cleared, Johan's attire had changed to a sleeveless, purple trench coat-like device held together with many straps, some straps on his arms, and black pants and boots. His irises had turned orange, and he looked on at Placido with a dark expression.

"Then I shall duel against you in this form," Placido stated aloud. _"That's it Yubel; show me the Three Demons."_ A Duel Disc then materialized onto Johan's arm; one with a mostly red body, with purple section, and a blade that instantly split out into three along a pivot point. They were shorter as they got farther forward, with the last two having 2 of each Zone and the last one.

When the Duel Disc triggered, a Deck appeared in Johan's Duel Disc and he pulled 5 cards from it. Opposite him, Placido also pulled out five cards, and then a glowing green Infinity Symbol briefly flashed around them.

Johan: LP 4000

Placido: LP 4000

"I'll take the first turn," Johan stated, his voice darker than normal from Yubel's power. "I draw." He then looked at his card for all of a second before holding it up and stating, "I Summon Chaos Core (ATK: 0, LV: 3)!" Out of a black mist then appeared the form of a skeletal black creature whose form resembled a bird's, but whose head contained a yellowy face and whose rib cage contained a glowing orb. "I set three cards and end my turn."

"Draw," Placid stated, pulling up another card and then flipping around one from his hand. "I activate One For One, and I send the monster card Wise Breaker in my hand to the Cemetery to Special Summon Wise Core from my Deck (ATK: 0, LV: 1)." Placido then called up a vortex that released his white egg-like monster, before he played another card.

"I activate the Instant Magic: Trap Booster! By discarding one card from my hand, in this case Klein's Labyrinth; and I activate one Trap Card from my hand." Revealing a card as he placed a second one in the Cemetery, he declared, "I activate Torrential Tribute! Because a monster was summoned, I destroy all monsters on the field."

"What?" Johan asked, somewhat annoyed as the card appeared and caused his black monster to explode. Just then, instead of exploding right away, Placido's monster opened up vertically and released a glowing green orb before its pieces shattered. Then, the orb changed into a vertical column of light.

"When Wise Core is destroyed by a card effect," Placido explained, the silhouette of a tall robotic figure appearing in the light, "I may call out the five components of Machine Emperor Wisel: Wisel Infinity (ATK: 0, LV: 1), Wisel Top (DEF: 0, LV: 1), Wisel Attack (ATK: 1200, LV: 1), Wisel Carrier (DEF: 1200, LV: 1) and Wisel Carrier (DEF: 600, LV: 1)!"

With the light dying down, Placido revealed his monster as the tall, white mechanical monster with the glowing red light face, the blade on its left arm, the pontoon-like legs, and the shield on its right arm. "Combined, my Wisel Infinity has the total attack strength of all my monsters (ATK: 2500). Battle!"

"Trap Card Open: Call of the Living Dead!" Johan declared. "Return, Chaos Core (ATK: 0, LV: 3)!" With the card flipped up, there appeared a big black ball of smoke that released the skeletal monster.

"Then I will discontinue my Battle Phase," Placido replied, clearly aware of the effect of Johan's monster. "During the Main Phase 2, I activate Card of Death, and I…"

"I don't think so!" Johan declared. "Trap Card: Mirror of Chaos! When a Chaos Monster is on my field, I send the Three Demons from my Deck to my Cemetery to negate an opponent's Magic Card effect!" Snapping out the three cards from his Deck, Johan spun them around and placed them into the Cemetery as Placido's card turned into black fog and dissolved.

"I guess I have no choice but to end my turn," Placido said stoically, not seeming to care about the previous exchange. Interestingly to him, even after its resolution, the card remained on Johan's field, but its picture and lore were changed to match that of his negated card.

"Draw!" Johan declared, placing the card in his hand before pointing at the floating card and stating, "I activate the secondary effect of Mirror of Chaos! During the Standby Phase of the turn after the Magic Card is negated, I apply its effect as my own. Thus, I draw two more cards from my Deck!" In a split second Johan reached for his Deck and pulled two new cards, gaining a surprised and somewhat nervous look upon seeing one of them.

"_This card..."_ Johan thought in his normal voice, envisioning himself in a black background while he remembered his last duel teamed with Yubel. _"If that happens again..."_

"_You have nothing to fear this time, Johan," Yubel's voice stated in his mind as she appeared beside him on that black void. "I have acquired a host of power which will allow me to handle the Demons on my own. I simply need you to play them."_

"_Very well."_ Snapping back to the moment, Johan's darkly confident face returned as he pointed at the skeletal creature and stated, "I release Chaos Core, and I call upon the Dark Summons God (ATK: 0, LV: 5)!" In a wisp of smoke, the dark creature dissolved into a tall black-skinned creature with scaly skin, horns and a blue gem on its head, long claws, and a red rode over its lower body.

"_The move is finally set up,"_ Placido thought, smiling. _"Just a bit more Johan Yubel;, and you will play into my hands."_

"By releasing my monster," Johan stated as his monster's form changed into a black, foggy outline, then into a huge vertical column of black that whipped up strong winds before it split into three columns; one red, one blue, one yellow, "I Special Summon, ignoring the Summoning Conditions, God Flame Emperor Uria (ATK: 0, LV: 10), Descending Thunder Emperor Hamon (ATK: 4000, LV: 10), and Phantom Demon Emperor Ravel (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!"

Out of the three columns of light then arose the forms of three enormous, demonic creatures with massive forms, long talons and dark, guttural growls. The first, from the red column, emerged a massive red serpent whose arms were modified into transparent, clawed pings and whose leathery grey face was inside a secondary maw resembling jaws, complete with blue gem and four horns.

Second to emerge, from the yellow column, there appeared a huge skeletal dragon made from dull yellow bones, with huge scoops on its hands, a huge pair of wings with green membrane that extended onto its tail, and a wide head with a grey upper jaw, a blue gem and horns with membrane on them.

The final one, out of the blue column, appeared as the tall, human-like demonic form of a tall, blue monster with purple leathery skin on certain places and chiseled features on its chest and abdominals. Its wings were massive, its tail segmented, and horns adorned its face that gave it a demonic appearance. Together, all three monsters growled and shook the winds, making Judai step back and Placido look up in awe.

"During this turn, the Special Summoned Monsters cannot attack," Johan explained, "but I do not need them to in this case. Magic Activate: Death by Dimensional Fusion! I exclude the Three Demons and fuse them together!" Roaring, all three monster changed into smoke that was their own colour plus a jet black; this smoke rose into the air and it swirled together, forming something like a black hole.

"Mighty beast whose form corrodes the soul with terror and hatred," Johan chanted, "Rise up from the Darkness of Chaos, the pit of Madness! Appear Now: the Ultimate Phantom Demon, Chaos Phantom Demon Armityle (ATK: 0, LV: 12)!" All of a sudden the black hole exploded into a black fog, which descended and covered the whole field while a demonic growling rang out.

As the fog started to part, a massive monster several times the size of the previous creatures began to arise from the ground. It was a twisted compilation of their features, with dull yellow skeletal features along its chest, wings and its long, serpentine lower body. Its right arm was a demonic one with long talons, its left a red serpent's head, and its real head had two faces mounted vertically and large, webbed horns.

However, before Johan could proceed, he noticed that Wisel had disappeared from the opposite side of the field and Placido himself was nowhere to be found. Even Judai could not see what had become of him, and so he looked around with a sweeping motion. Still, he did not see the form of the man.

"Are you looking for me?" Placido's voice suddenly asked as the man appeared beside Johan, dressed in his Yliaster robes and his metal Infinity eye patch and with no Duel Disc on his arm. Sneering, he quickly pulled the sword from its scabbard, with reflexes almost too fast to see.

"Watch out Johan!" Judai yelled; but his cries meant nothing. Before Johan could react, Placido grabbed him by the left wrist and swung his sword down, making both Johan and Judai close their eyes. They then heard the sound of the sword cutting, but Johan felt no pain, and when they both opened their eyes, what they saw confused them both.

In his right hand, Placido clutched the severed left arm of Yubel, the wing-like Duel Disc extended from it and the card of Armityle on the tray. The Duel Disc from Johan's arm had disappeared, and overtop of him appeared the form of Yubel with her left arm sliced off just below the elbow. Putting his sword back in its sheath, he put his bare left arm out in front of his and held the severed arm level to it.

"What are you…?" Judai asked quietly, all of a sudden gasping when he understood what would happen. "Wait… no, don't!" Sneering, Placido rammed the stump of the severed arm into his hand, causing a burst of orange light to consume him and make the other two close their eyes. Placido's chuckling could be heard by them, which worried them.

When the light subsided, the sleeve of Placido's robe had been torn away just below the elbow, the severed Yubel arm having replaced his human arm and a series of veins connecting its flesh to his own human flesh. A dark aura then consumed him, making his Infinity Symbol glow with the blackness and his eyes' highlights glow purple.

Holding his arm to the sky, the huge demonic monster started to growl angrily, turning and looking down at Judai and Johan. The latter of the two started to back up slowly, a startled look on his face and an angry look on Judai's. All of a sudden, Placido snapped his fingers and the mouth of the monster started to spew black smoke, which cracked the concrete of the room.

As this happened, Placido's aura changed from black to green and his Infinity eye piece did the same. Understanding what was happening, Judai charged the man and grabbed onto his just below the ribcage, Placido looking down in amazement before he and Judai both warped away.

"Judai!" Johan and Yubel both yelled before they started to cough from the black fog the giant demon was producing. Turning, Yubel's form faded back into Johan and the man then ran off into the darkness, following the entrance he had used to get in. As he got father and farther away, the demon stopped releasing the black fog and it reared up, growling while its entire body changed into the black fog and began to seep into the very building.

Upstairs, the guests who had been partying without a care as to the disappearance of their host, had become very concerned as they saw the black fog start to seep out from the staircase in the hall and the vents. At first they thought a fire had broken out and the sprinklers had malfunctioned; but when it started to eat through the walls, they realized something was terribly wrong.

Screaming and panicked, the people all began to run out through the entrance of the building, the guards having abandoned their post to also escape the toxic fog. When everyone had gotten out into the streets, they watched in horror while the fog filled up the entire lower floor of the building; then it seeped out and consumed the entire exterior of the building, dissolving it as though it were made of nothing more than plaster.

Standing on the roof of the building opposite the hotel, Paradox watched the entire event unfold, sneering behind his mask as his eyes lit up the markings on the face of said mask. _"I see you finally let your destructive side out, by dear friend Placido,"_ he thought, chuckling at the idea. _"You may prove useful to me after all."_ With that he disappeared into a flash of black light, leaving no evidence of his presence.

On the other side of where the building had been, in the shadows of an alley, Johan stood in the darkness with Yubel's spirit floating opposite him, his clothes still those Yubel gave him but his eyes normal. Glowing orange, Yubel's arm below the elbow regenerated in plasma from where Placido had cut it off, with particles integrating downwards to reform the lost tissue.

Forming the Duel Disc on her arm, Yubel pulled out the Deck from it and fanned through its contents. _"He got all four of the Phantom Demons,"_ she confirmed. _"There's no telling what he could do with those monsters in addition to his Machine Emperors."_

"What's our next course of action?" Johan asked in his normal voice. "Without Judai, we need to find somebody from the rest of the group to combat Placido. With those creatures in his hands, you and I alone cannot stop him."

"Did somebody say they were in need of assistance?" the familiar voice of Kyojo suddenly questioned, he and Yusuriha suddenly stepping out of the shadows. "That was a pretty interesting commando run you two just made; very cowboy."

"_We need to find Placido, Jose and Lucciano and take back the Demons,"_ Yubel clarified. _"Placido suckered us and took them by force, and Judai went with him trying to get them back."_

"I see," Yusuriha pondered, looking back with a puzzled look on her face. We shall need Taiyou's help for this."

"_Then I shall find him and enlist his assistance."_ With that Yubel warped out of existence, leaving the three humans standing in the alleyway as the crowds of guests started to thin and disappear.

* * *

Stepping through the hallways of the City's Citadel, Taiyou found a tall pair of gates with runic writings on them and stepped inside, revealing a huge room almost like a library with several balconies at which various figures stood. It appeared they had been in the midst of a discussion, and Taiyou's entry had interrupted them; for they all began to stare at him as he headed to one of the platforms.

"I apologize form my tardiness," he stated to the general assembly as he made his way up to the platform where Endymion stood. "I had matters to which it was imperative I attended." Bowing in apology, he stood beside the taller, older magician in his new outfit: his trench coat had been replaced by a pair of doubled shoulder pads with a waist-length cape that covered his upper arms, in the same colors.

"The Council recognizes the efforts and actions of Endymion and his apprentice to help protect the citizens of our humble world…" a female magician began; one clad in black and silver robes, with an ornate headdress and a sun-shaped staff on her back.

"Actually," Endymion stated, correcting the woman, "Taiyou is no longer my apprentice; he is my Knight, my Cavalier."

"The Cavalier of Endymion," Taiyou stated under his breath. "I like the sound of that."

"Why has he suddenly gained the right to be promoted?" the magician woman inquired, with all the magicians' eyes falling upon Taiyou to explain himself.

"It is because of me, Norsewemko" Taiyou retorted confidently, "that the Signers have now unlocked, for the first time in the history of their world and ours, all five of the Legendary Savior Dragons." This statement created a huge stir among the assembly, to which Taiyou's only reply was a satisfied smile.

**Card of the Week – Yubel**

**Chaos Phantom Demon Armityle**

**Type: **DARK

**Level: **12

**Family:** [Demon/Fusion/Effect]

**Effect:** "God Flame Emperor Uria" + "Descending Thunder Emperor Hamon" + "Phantom Demon Emperor Ravel"

**ANIME/CHAPTER:** This card cannot be Special Summoned outside the effect of "Death by Dimensional Fusion". This card cannot be destroyed as a result of battle. Once per turn, if this card is in face-up Attack Position, you can select 1 monster your opponent controls and inflict 10000 points of Battle Damage to that monster. During your Main Phase, activate by giving your opponent control of this monster until the end of the turn. During the End Phase, remove from play all other cards in the controller's side of the field.

**OCG/TCG: **This card can only be Special Summoned from the Extra Deck by excluding the above Fusion Material Monsters you control (the magic card "Fusion" is not used). This card cannot be destroyed as a result of battle. During your turn only, this card's ATK is increased by 10000 points.

**ATK/ **0

**DEF/ **0

*It would appear that a real advantage has gone to the wrong person. Review if you wish.*


	19. Wrath of the Machine Emperor

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 19 – Wrath of the Machine Emperor! Cyber Style Reborn, Hell Kaiser vs. Placido**

At the Council of Magicians in the Dominion world, Taiyou was receiving a rather annoyed stare from Norsewemko, the Speaker of the House, after he had told the entire assembly that it was his doing that all five Saviors were unleashed. Now, chatter had erupted amongst the assembly as all the magicians discussed what he had said.

"Silence in the Assembly!" Norsewemko instructed as she pulled her staff off her back, pointing the sun-like end to the sky and bringing silence to the group. She then proceeded to point her staff at him and state bluntly, "You lie, half-breed. You are no Signer, thus you cannot have released the Saviors."

"I never said I had done it myself," Taiyou reiterated, not acting at all rattled by the threatening gesture. "I guided the Signers in their focus and in their Destiny, and it was through said guidance that they all unleashed the Saviors. Three of them already had done so, but it was I who allowed the other two to be reformed."

"Then you are taking credit where it is not due," Norsewemko deduced. "The Signers were likely to unlock them of their own."

"Only four of the Dragons were in that world though," Taiyou pointed out. "The Fifth Dragon was put under my guidance so that evil could not take it before a Fifth Signer emerged to claim it properly. It was because of me that Crow Hogan, the newest Signer, was able to claim Blackfeather Dragon, the new form of that dragon."

"Even so," Norsewemko insisted, "your discipline was unnecessary for the unleashing of the Savior Dragons. Your actions do not warrant your promotion."

"That is for me to decide, not you," Endymion countered. "When you have an apprentice, my sister, you will be able to decide whether or not they become knighted for these actions. Taiyou has shown the discipline for which my judgment deems he deserves promotion."

"Which is why I have asked you here, Endymion," Norsewemko responded. "The Council feels that your judgment is no longer above reproach." The entire Council of Magicians was shocked by this statement and the chatter once again resumed, until she held up her staff again and brought the assembly to rest.

"This decision makes no sense," Endymion stated on protest. "I have never strayed from my post."

"You are the one who allowed the being known as Paradox to cause the destruction of this world," the female magician accused. "There would be no need for this if you could have stopped them."

"That's an entirely unfair accusation!" Taiyou shouted up, raising his fist in angry defiance. "He had no way of knowing what Paradox intended to do here!"

"He allowed the assault upon your fellow half-breed friend," Norsewemko stated in irritation. "Your blind loyalty to Endymion has prevented you from seeing things accurately."

"I'm surprised you know anything about loyalty!" Taiyou spat, gaining him a few gasps and glares from the magicians in the upper rows.

"I'll tolerate your impertinence no longer," Norsewemko hissed. "Take him away." Snapping her fingers, the woman commanded two magicians in long black robes to come up behind him, grabbing him by the shoulders and dragging him down the stairs whence he came. Despite his wrestling and defiant yelling, he was hauled out of the council room and the doors shut behind.

"Lady Speaker, this is a highly sudden motion," a magician among the higher levels stated; this one clad in crimson robes that included a cape, and with gold trim on its shoulders and hat. "With all due respect, even your power does not let you circumvent our democracy."

"Then if you are so convinced of this, Dark Red Enchanter," Norsewemko addressed, "Then I call for a non-confidence motion for Endymion's removal."

"I won't bother," Endymion stated sorrowfully. "If you think you can lead this world in a more proper way, Norsewemko, then you may have it. I will resign without argument."

"That will not be acceptable," Norsewemko replied, having no sympathy in her voice. "Your resignation will not be accepted because it will not be sufficient; you will face exile for your crimes against our people."

"I will join the ranks of the King of the Underworld before I exile myself," Endymion responded. "If you want my resignation not, then I am left no choice but to stand in defiance of thee." With such bold words from the seemingly timid and succinct ruler of the Magicians, the council was consumed by an expression of total surprise as Norsewemko looked on in disdain and frustration.

"If you insist on this course of action," she warned, "then you may lead us to Civil War."

"If that is what it takes to restore the rightful order," Endymion responded boldly, "then so be it." With that Endymion turned and began to leave, while members of the Council began to look back and forth asking themselves one integral question: Whose side am I on?

Outside the Council Citadel, the Magicians who had grabbed Taiyou had brought him in front of a tall, golden structure much like an Iron Maiden framed by gold rectangular prism frame and connected to it by chains. When they stepped to a certain point, the front of the structure opened by splitting in half vertically and forming a gateway into darkness.

"You really think you can do this to me?" Taiyou asked both of them, his contempt oozing through. "I thought we were comrades."

"It's nothing personal Taiyou," one of them responded sullenly, "but you have left us no choice. Such rebellious attitude cannot be tolerated." Without saying another word, the two magicians threw Taiyou into the blackness with a last defiant scream, at which time the doors closed and locked. With somber expressions both figures turned and walked away, not minding what they had done any more.

Inside the darkness, Taiyou discovered that the space was completely infinite; there was no indication of walls, ceiling or floor. Looking around with anger in his eyes, he thought to himself about what he felt about Norsewemko and her two soldiers; until that is, he heard a familiar dark and deep voice say,

"It's been to long, hasn't it Taiyou?" After hearing this, a total look of terror swept over Taiyou's face as he turned around to face a dark red glow; at the centre of which were two glowing eyes and the silhouette of a tall, demonic figure.

"No," Taiyou said aloud, his horror showing despite the darkness. "It can't be… you…"

* * *

The sound of dripping and the sensation of water falling onto his face stirred Judai, revealing to him the surroundings of a jail cell with leaking lead pipes overhead and bars on the doors. Holding his head in pain as he tried to clear the cobwebs, standing up to see a robed figure in front of him in the near-total darkness.

"What did you do?" the figure asked, the voice and the red eye glowing through the hood revealing him as Placido. Reaching up with his right hand, he pulled down his hood to show his look of anger; then he pulled the sleeve on his left arm up, and showed Judai something that horrified and disgusted him.

"That arm…" Judai stuttered, looking on at what had originally been Yubel's left arm, but was by now nothing short of a putrid mess. Several scar-like sores had opened up along the length of the arm, hand, fingers and Duel tray that were filled with black, congealed pus; and the veins that connected it to the arms were torn apart and bloody.

"That arm was perfectly fine up until yesterday," Placido stated, trying to be calm but failing to conceal his ire entirely. "If I find out you caused my arm to rot, you will suffer the consequences.

"I didn't do anything to your arm," Judai stated. "You did."

"What are you taking about?"

"Duel Spirits and humans can be joined together, even parts of either; but only if it is a mutual union. One cannot force such a fusion without consequences. The demon Maenou's vessels all rotted away because he forcibly merged his soul into them; in your case, Yubel's arm is rotting because her spirit does not inhabit it to allow mutual bonding."

"Is that so?" Placido asked, actually sounding intrigued at what Judai had just told him. "Well then, I guess I have no use for this festering stump." Drawing his sword with his right hand, he spun it around for a few seconds before taking the swing, going straight down through the arm and causing it to fall to the floor.

With Judai observing in complete bewilderment, Placido smiled as he watched the arm hit the ground, splattering into black mush. Looking back at his left arm, he saw the human limb had survived underneath, albeit covered in clotted pus and blood. In the mush lay the three Phantom Demons and their fused form; Placido picked them up, and looked at them with a solemn expression.

"Without that arm, I cannot use the Three Demons while they are in this state; however…" Extending out his left arm to full length, he pointed the tip of his sword at the cards and smiled. With a green flash of light, the backs of the cards were changed to bear a figure eight instead of the oval, identical to the cards of the robot Judai had dueled. "…Now I may use them as I wish."

Looking over to Judai, he sneered darkly before pointing his sword tip at Judai's forehead, causing a bolt of green lightning to be fired from the tip. When it struck Judai, it threw him back against the wall and slumped him to the floor, his eyes black and a green Infinity Symbol glowing on his forehead.

As Placido grinned darkly, Lucciano and Jose both walked up behind him, solemn expressions on their faces. These quickly changed to impressed surprise when Placido spun around and showed them the cards. "So then you have succeeded at a seemingly impossible goal," Jose observed while Placido inserted the four cards into his pocket.

"What of the boy?" Lucciano asked, pointing to the catatonic Judai with a genuine look of sympathy on her face. "Do you plan to kill him?"

"He deserves better than that, even if he opposes us," Placido answered. "I will use him to lure the Signers and the others; then, when they are beaten, I will erase his memories and release him, leaving nothing in our way."

"Very well," Jose answered. "Then let us begin the next phase of the operation; preferably, this time without destroying any major buildings." These words slightly irritated Placido, but he brushed them off as he turned and started to walk away, followed closely by his cohorts.

* * *

Inside the Kaiba Corporation Duel Stadium, a massive crowd of people were watching a duel between Professional Duelist Kento Shira and none other than the legendary Hell Kaiser Ryo. The current scene involved Shira controlling a three-headed dragon made of ice, whose form was incredibly massive (ATK: 2700, LV: 9), as well as two set cards and no hand.

Hell Kaiser: LP 1000

Shira: LP 1900

Hell Kaiser's hand included two cards and his field one set card. Clad in his black clothing and his dyed red and black hair, he smiled on darkly and stated, "I've had a lot of fun in this duel today, my dear friend; but it's time I brought it to a close!"

With a scared expression on Shira's face, Hell Kaiser drew his card in a flash, but before looking at it he pointed at his set card and flipped it. "I activate the Trap Card, Trap Stun! With this, all Trap Cards on the field have their effects negated until the End Phase!" Lightning then shot from the card, striking the two set cards in front of Shira and turning them to stone.

"What is this…?" Shira asked in his soft, stunned tone, his amber eyes open wide and his black hair ruffled from the shock of what Hell Kaiser had done. "I… I had the upper hand until this point…"

"Hell Kaiser surrenders dominance to no one," Hell Kaiser stated, flipping around a card from his hand. "Magic Activate: Cyber Dark Impact! I return Cyber Dark Keel, Horn and Edge to the Deck from my Cemetery, and I Fusion Summon Armoured Black Dragon – Cyber Dark Dragon (ATK: 1000, LV: 8)!"

Three cards then slid from Hell Kaiser's Graveyard as a huge swirling wind kicked up around him. Soon three monsters appeared behind him, all of which were about the same height. The first was a brown metal monster like the skeletal frame of a dragon with no eyes, four forward-facing horns and a green light in its mouth.

Second was a green monster much like a dragonfly with four blades on each wing, a blue bulb for an eye, dull grey trim and a segmented body ending in two hooks. Lastly, there was the grey serpent complete with a dragon-like face and red eyes, wires along its body and a series of rivets along its form.

Rising up into the air, the green monster's head folded down and its tail split apart, and the end of the brown monster's tail inserted into a socket the head had formed. Then, the serpent's head folded back into its body and it attached between the halves of the green monster's tail. Finally, the metal maw opened to reveal a leathery grey face complete with green eyes and sharp teeth.

"When this monster is Special Summoned, I equip it with a Dragon-Type Monster from my Cemetery."

"Wait… there are no Dragon-Type Monsters in your Cemetery…" Shira realized. "I excluded all of them earlier."

"Very true," Hell Kaiser agreed, "but I have a way around that. Instant Magic: Code Change! I select a Monster Type in the text of a monster I control, and change it until the End Phase. I change the Dragon-Type in Cyber Dark Dragon's lore to Machine-Type!"

"No, you can't!" Shira yelled as Hell Kaiser's Cemetery lit up and a card slid out. "That would mean…"

"I equip Cyber Dark Dragon with the Cyber End Dragon I set to the Cemetery with Fusion Decimation earlier; thus, Cyber Dark's attack strength increases by 4000 points (ATK: 5000)!"

In front of the existing machine, there appeared a silvery metal serpentine dragon complete with a pair of segmented wings with blue orbs, another orb on its chest, and three necks with different heads on the end with yellow, red and green eyes (the latter twos' necks being attached to wing-like projections of the torso).

With a horrendous roar, four bladed arms on the chest of the composite monster attached to the silvery dragon, attaching wires to the centre head of the dragon as it absorbed its power. "Go, Cyber Dark Dragon! Attack Ice Boundary Dragon Trishula with Full Darkness Burst!"

Roaring, the composite monster created a shockwave that struck the opposing monster, causing it to explode instantly and knocking Shira backwards to the floor. The crowd then began to cheer out for Hell Kaiser as the Solid Vision disappeared and the man himself turned to leave.

When he reached the outside of the arena, Hell Kaiser's cell phone began to ring, perplexing him; he wasn't expecting ay calls just yet. Answering the phone after he pulled it from his coat, he heard a voice on the other end say, "Hello, Marufuji Ryo, Hell Kaiser."

"To whom am I speaking?" Hell Kaiser inquired, not recognizing the voice.

"Somebody who will expect your full co-operation," the voice stated menacingly, a few seconds before Hell Kaiser heard screaming on the other end of the line. Female screaming, with a very familiar pitch and tone: Asuka.

"What have you done?" Hell Kaiser scathed into the phone, getting a reply very quickly.

"Nothing yet; but unless you follow my instructions, that will change. Now listen: return to your home now. No interviews, no company, no autographs. Meet me on the roof." At that moment the line went dead, and a very angry-looking Hell Kaiser shoved it into his pocket before starting off towards the garage where his D-Wheel was parked.

***

On the roof of the Marufuji penthouse, a white-cloaked figure stood still as a statue, not moving at all while a red eye and a green Infinity symbol glowed through the cloak. To his right lay the unconscious form of Asuka, now Hell Kaiser's wife, and on his arm there was an Infinity Duel Disc ready to go.

Suddenly, the figure heard a noise coming from the street and turned. Looking down, he saw the form of the Black D-Wheel with Hell Kaiser on it pull up to the front of the building, then the rider jump off and go inside.

Mere minutes later, the door to the roof swung violently open as Hell Kaiser kicked it out, looking very irate and hostile. "What have you done with Asuka?" When the figure pointed to her laying unconscious, Hell Kaiser merely hissed as the figure himself chuckled darkly.

Grabbing his hood with both hands, the figure pulled back the hood to reveal the face of Placido, at which time the eye ceased to glow. "Do not despair, my friend," Placido told Hell Kaiser as he advanced towards him. "She will be fine and awake in less than an hour, with no memory of this attack."

"If you wanted me to come to you," Hell Kaiser spat, "you could have simply asked. There's something a bit more to this than you're letting on. Why am I here? And while I'm asking questions, Placido," he then asked, "why are you here?"

"I see you recognize me," Placido said, almost sounding flattered. "You have no idea how few people know who I am. To answer your questions, we are here so I can show you a very dark truth. Do you know of Yuki Judai's whereabouts?"

"Why are you asking me about Judai?" Hell Kaiser questioned, his anger being mixed with perplexity. "I haven't seen him in about two months now." Cuing in that something bad was about to be stated, his anger returned and he barked, "what have you done with him?!"

Smiling, Placido held up a photograph of Judai inside his dark cell, slumped against the wall with lifeless eyes. "He too will soon be fine," Placido informed, "But I am afraid I cannot let him go; he is too much a threat."

"How about I wager for his safety?" Hell Kaiser questioned, holding up his Duel Disc and activating it. "If I win, you will release Judai back to his friends."

"For me to even consider such a proposal," Placido scolded, "you would need to wager something that interests me enough. What do you have to offer me?"

"I have my Cyber-Style Deck to offer you," Hell Kaiser stated, holding up his Deck. "This Deck has served me well for years, and I would think it would do the same for you. However, don't count on that; I won't lose."

"Very well," Placido agreed, producing his own Deck as Hell Kaiser put his own into the Duel Disc. As he placed his own Deck into his Duel Disc, Placido added, "I will wager Judai against your Deck; I feel it is a sufficient trade." _"Yes, it is; there is far more power to be had from that Deck than from Judai."_

"Then let us begin!" Hell Kaiser stated, both players snapping up a fresh hand of cards.

Hell Kaiser: LP 4000

Placido: LP 4000

"I will take the first move," Hell Kaiser said strongly. "Draw!" The instant he did, he reached for a card already in his hand and placed it into the Cemetery; then he turned his drawn card around. "Magic Activate: One for One! I send the Monster Card Cyber Dragon Zwei from my Deck to my hand, and from my Deck I Special Summon the Level 1 Cyber Vary (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!"

From behind Hell Kaiser there appeared a long, metallic snake whose body was lined with red domes and spikes, and whose face was an eyeless one with decayed, leathery brown flesh. "Next, I activate Machine Reproduction Technique, and I Special Summon two more Cyber Varies from my Deck (ATK: 0, LV: 1) (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!"

On either side of the existing monster, two new copies of the same monster rose up, leaving Hell Kaiser with one to his right, his left and directly behind him. "I set two card and end my turn."

"Very well," Placido stated. "It is my turn, and I draw." Looking at his card, he quickly spun it around and stated, "I activate the Magic Card, Wise Gate. By sending Wise Core from my Deck to my Cemetery, I Special Summon Wise Core 3 from my hand (ATK: 0, LV: 3)." Fanning through his Deck, he found said monster and placed it directly into the Cemetery, and then slapped another card onto the tray.

When this next creature emerged, it resembled a satellite-like object with a floating green core at the centre of a parabolic dish, claws holding it in place. "Next, I activate Wise Blast. By destroying all of my Wise or Wisel monsters, I inflict 1000 damage to my opponent for each destroyed monster."

All of a sudden, the entire body of the structure, except for its green core, changed into electricity and shot at Hell Kaiser, striking him hard and making him sputter as he tried to hold himself up. Seconds later, however, his problems got worse when the core changed into a vertical green column of light.

Hell Kaiser: LP 3000

Placido: LP 4000

"When Wise Core 3 is destroyed by a card effect," Placido informed, "I destroy all of my own monsters, and I Special Summon from my hand, Deck or Cemetery: Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity (ATK: 0, LV: 1), Wisel Top 3 (ATK: 80, LV: 3). Wisel Attack 3 (ATK: 1600, LV: 3), Wisel Guard 3 (DEF: 2000, LV: 3) and Wisel Carrier 3 (ATK: 1100, LV: 3)."

Out from the green light there emerged five white metal monsters, surprising Hell Kaiser very much. The first was the oblong, side-spiked creature with an Infinity Symbol on its chest. Second, there appeared the flat wedge-shaped white machine almost like a jet fighter. Third came the long, bladed, oval-shaped object, fourth the large white wheel-like object with a five-lobed base and several rivets, and finally the thruster vehicle with circular body and pointed nose.

"When there five monsters are on the field," Placido explained, "they combine to form Machine Emperor Wisel 3 (ATK: 3500, LV: 1)!" Opening its Infinity symbol and making it glow green; the central structure drew all the other pieces towards it, where they assembled into structures. The jet became a head with a long, pipe-like neck and head with a headdress and shoulder pads attached atop the Infinity object, making a pair of eyes light up upon its face.

The next two objects became the left and right arms, respectively. The bladed object folded out into an arm so that the axe blades were on the upper arm, the curved blades on either side of the forearm, and a sword blade attached to the wrist. The wheel-like object then folded out into an arm with the five-lobed base as a shield.

Finally, the boosters' vehicle transformed into a pair of long, jointed legs set onto the former cockpit and complete with booster-backed feet, attaching itself to form the waist and legs of the robot. The new figure then let out a mechanical guttural noise, and flexed its limbs to show that they functioned.

"For all intents and purposes, this monster is still five pieces," Placido explained, "but they function as a single unit. Battle! Wisel, destroy Cyber Vary!" Jumping forward, the giant robot swung its bladed arm straight at one of the mechanical serpents, but before it could strike its target the creature warped off the field. "What's this?"

"When Cyber Vary is selected as an attack target," Hell Kaiser explained, holding up the card before placing it into a slot on his Duel Disc for excluded cards, "I may exclude it from the field to end the Battle Phase and draw one card." With that Hell Kaiser picked up a card and added it to his hand, looking down in it with a look of intrigue.

"Then I shall set one card and end my turn," Placido stated. "You have survived this round, Hell Kaiser, but you cannot keep up this charade forever."

"That may be true," Hell Kaiser admitted, "but I do not intent to keep it up forever. This will be the last turn of the duel; this I promise you!"

"You're bluffing," Placido stated. "There's no way you'll defeat my monster so easily; not with all the effects it possesses."

"Yes, I am familiar with the Infinity Series monsters and their effects," Hell Kaiser replied, now sneering. "Yusei has told me of them and their power; but it is limited to Synchro Monsters. A Fusion Monster will take it down hard! Draw!"

Looking at his card for all of a second, he spun it around and declared, "I Summon Cyber Ouroborus (ATK: 100, LV: 2)!" In between the silver serpents there appeared a new, longer black serpent with red eyes, a blue dome on its head, spikes, rivet holes and tubes along its body, and a tail that looked like a grabbling hook. "Next, I activate the second effect of Cyber Vary: I exclude it and Cyber Ouroborus, and I draw 2 cards."

Suddenly the black serpent and one of the silvery ones warped off the field, prompting Hell Kaiser to snap to two new cards from his Deck. "Also, when Cyber Ouroborus is excluded, I may send one card from my hand to the Cemetery and draw one card. I send a second Cyber Dragon Zwei." Flipping the card around, he then placed it into the Cemetery and pulled yet another card from his Deck; at that time, he pointed at his set card.

"Trap Card Open: Return from Another Dimension! I pay half my Life Points and Special Summon as many of my Excluded monsters as possible. I return Cyber Ouroborus (ATK: 100, LV: 2) and two Cyber Varies (ATK: 0, LV: 1) (ATK: 0, LV: 1)." A white hole then appeared behind Hell Kaiser, remaining only long enough to release the three monsters he had called back onto his field.

Hell Kaiser: LP 1500

Placido: LP 4000

"I activate Cyber Vary's second effect again, and exclude it and Cyber Ouroborus again!" Once again the black and silver monsters warped off the field, and Hell Kaiser spun around another card. "And, by discarding my third Cyber Dragon Zwei, I draw 3 cards!" With that he inserted the card into the Cemetery and snapped up three more cards. "Finally, I exclude the other two Cyber Varies!" With that the two remaining serpents warped off the field, leaving Hell Kaiser with no monsters in play but 8 cards in his hand.

"Trap Card Open!" Hell Kaiser commanded. "Skill Stun! For this turn, all monsters currently on the field hand their effects negated!" As he said this, electricity shot off his card and struck Placido's Duel Disc, zapping all the cards and creating a static aura around his monster. "With their effects negated, Wisel Infinity's ATK returns to normal (ATK: 0)."

"_No; this can't be. Without their effects, my monsters are nothing but targets. There's no way I can survive with these monsters. My face-down card has become paramount."_

"Magic Activate: Power Bond! I send Fusion Materials for a Machine-Type Monster to the Cemetery, and I Fusion Summon said monster!"

"You have no monsters on your field," Placido replied flatly. "You have no monsters that you can send."

"That's because I don't have to," Hell Kaiser replied, folding his card against his palm while he grabbed another card. "Instant Magic: Cybernetic Fusion Support! I pay half my Life Points to exclude from my Cemetery the Fusion Materials of a Light Machine, and use them for the original card's materials."

"But you don't have any usable materials in your Cemetery either," Placido pointed out. "No Cyber Dragons, and no Cyber Darks. What exactly do you intend to fuse?"

"When Cyber Dragon Zwei is in my Cemetery," Hell Kaiser reminded, "it is treated as Cyber Dragon. And since I have three, I combine them to Fusion Summon… Cyber End Dragon (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!" A beam of blue energy with white electricity erupted from behind Hell Kaiser, and when it died down it left the form of Hell Kaiser's gigantic metal monster with wings and three heads, which roared loudly at Placido and kicked up winds.

Hell Kaiser: LP 750

Placido: LP 4000

"Next, due to the effect of Power Bond, the attack strength of Cyber End Dragon is increased by its original ATK which doubles its power (ATK: 8000)!"

"I must say, Hell Kaiser," Placido stated. "I never thought you could pull off such an amazing combo so quickly. You truly are as good as they say, and probably better. However…" When he spoke again, his voice had changed; his tone was deeper, darker, and he sounded nothing like Placido anymore. "Your move has played right into my hands…"

"What the hell…?" Hell Kaiser said, stunned by what was going on. "Who the hell are you? What the hell are you?" When the figure simply sneered back and smiled, Hell Kaiser yelled, "Answer me!"

"Why don't I just show you?" the voice asked, Placido waving his arm over his face-down card. "Trap Card Activate: Sin Mirror! When my opponent Special Summons a monster, by destroying all of my own monsters, I Special Summon a Sin Token with the same power as the Summoned monster, and from my Deck I activate the field magic Sin World!"

"Sins… wait, you're…" The mechanical being in front of Placido then changed into black, fog-like plasma that rose up and took the form of a mirror. At that moment, dark flames of energy formed on Hell Kaiser, making him scream out in pain before they all receded into the card. Then, they leapt off the card and flooded the dragon, making it growl as its translucent card image appeared in front of it.

"Field Magic: Sin World, activate!" Holding the card to the sky, everything around the two duelists was changed to the purple space-like field with stars, green outlines of everything, and a blackened starry sky. Holding out his ram dramatically, Placido yelled, "Appear now: Sin Cyber End!"

As he said this, the mirror reflected the image of the card; but is art was different, with a more coiled pose, and darker metal that was shadowed to almost be black. Then, the black energy jumped off the dragon and hit the reflected card, causing its card border to change from purple to black. When the glass was filled with blackness, the mirror exploded into black flames, which rose up and took on the silhouette of Hell Kaiser's Dragon.

Soon, the form of the dragon appeared from its blackness. Much of its body was the same as Hell Kaiser's, but with a few key differences. All three of its faces wore masks; the left one white with black eyes and trim, the right black with light grey eyes and trim, and the centre one half and half with colours corresponding to the other masks. Its wings, chest plate and the wings-like struts on its torso were made of black metal, with the wings being framed by grey metal and the domes on the wings changed to grey-outlined orbs.

"Behold: Sin Cyber End Dragon (ATK: 8000, LV: 10)!" With a darkened version of the original's growl, the new monster made its presence known as Placido chuckled darkly. Hell Kaiser's face was tense, and he looked back in total disdain.

"You're not Placido at all," he deduced. "The Sin cards give you away. You're that masked figure who's been stealing cards. You are… Paradox!" At that moment, the form of Placido burst into blackness and consumed him, taking away his entire form as it grew larger, more muscular, and the hair grew longer.

"I see you have wasted no time identifying me," Paradox replied as his form came into view, his mask on and his yellow eyes glowing through the lines. "However, that makes no difference; you fate is still sealed." Pointing at Hell Kaiser, Paradox said, seemingly to his monster, "Seize him."

Without warning, the tip of the dragon's tail shot around to where Hell Kaiser was, wrapping around his chest and squeezing tightly. Hell Kaiser tried valiantly to pull the tail off from around him, but to no avail; and then the tail receded to Paradox's side, holding Hell Kaiser off the ground and at eye level with Paradox.

"Your Cyber End Dragon is certainly a powerful and effective monster," Paradox complemented, watching as Hell Kaiser tried to free himself from the monster that bound him. "It will serve me well. Thank you, Marufuji Ryo; you have done me a great service!"

As quickly as he had pulled him in, the tail swung around and threw Hell Kaiser back across the roof, where he smacked into the base of his own monster. Looking back up as he caught his breath, Hell Kaiser felt a pounding in his chest that he knew all-too-well; and before it claimed him he yelled, "Battle!"

Roaring, the dragon behind him started to form bluer energy in its jaws, all of which it immediately fired at Paradox. However, they never reached their target; the dragon behind Paradox fired black energy from its own jaws and intercepted the attack, causing a huge explosion between the two figures that obscured Hell Kaiser's view. When the smoke cleared, Paradox, his dragon and his field were gone.

* * *

"What's going on?" Yusei suddenly asked to Jack and Crow, all three of whom were on their D-Wheels looking for Judai. As they had passed the Tops, they saw a huge explosion atop the roof of one of the buildings; then they remembered that said building was Hell Kaiser's penthouse, and so they pulled up around the front of the building as fast as they could.

When they got to the parking lot, they jumped off their vehicles and ran into the front door of the building, heading straight into the lobby. At the service desk there was a woman in a uniform who asked, rather politely, "Is anyone expecting you?"

"We're here to see Marufuji Ryo," Jack said quickly, which got a rather curious reply.

"He was here a few minutes ago," the woman informed them. "He seemed to be in very much of a hurry." Without waiting for a reply, the three men ran straight to the stairwell and began running as fast as they could up the stairs.

After about five minutes of solid running up stairs, they burst through the open door to the roof, to a shocking scene. Hell Kaiser was propped up against the side of the building, gasping for air and sweating heavily, and Asuka was lying beside him, unconscious.

"Ryo!" Yusei yelled as the group ran to where he was quickly. "What happened here? Are you alright? Is Asuka alright…?"

"We were attacked… by Paradox…" Hell Kaiser gasped out, clutching at his chest. "She'll… be fine… but I…" All of a sudden Hell Kaiser stopped mid-sentence, slumping back while his whole body went limp. Scared for their friend, the three of them got closer, and Yusei got over him to check his status.

"He's had a heart attack," Yusei stated, worrying everyone. Pulling off his coat and shirt, he saw that Hell Kaiser's chest was badly bruised and bloody, from some sort of compression injury from the looks of it, and Yusei then added, "His ribs are already badly cracked and bruised. His heart's probably being crushed by blood."

Reaching into his pocket, Yusei pulled out his utility knife and his lighter, then sparked the lighter to heat up the blade of his knife, sterilizing it. Then, he made a very quick incision into the side of Hell Kaiser's chest, causing a huge amount of blood to spill onto the roof. Feeling Hell Kaiser's chest, he then added, "his heart is beating again."

"We still need to stop the bleeding," Jack pointed out, "and he needs to get to a hospital." Pulling out a strip of gauze from his pocket, Yusei wrapped it around Hell Kaiser's chest and fastened it down with tape. Then, he and Jack picked up the man while Crow grabbed Asuka, and the two of three of them then moved as quickly as they could.

By the time they had gotten to the main floor, the woman at the front desk was incredibly distraught from what she had heard and now seen. "We need an ambulance, stat!" Jack ordered as he and Yusei put Hell Kaiser down, lying on the floor so his blood could circulate better. "He's lost a lot of blood!"

As the woman at the desk called paramedics, Crow put Asuka in a chair and ran into the back room. He then came back out with a standard Tops first-aid kit, which included one bag of IV fluids. Reaching into the kit, he grabbed a bottle of alcohol and sterilized the wound; then he put a needle on the end of the bag, inserted it into a vein and began to squeeze the bag while Jack taped the needle still.

"What happened up there?" the woman asked as she got off the phone, running out from behind the desk. "How did Marufuji-sama lose so much blood?"

"His chest was crushed by something," Yusei explained. "It caused blood to build up around his heart, which stopped it."

"But… how did he get cut across his chest?"

"I'm afraid we did that," Jack apologized. "He had to relieve the bleeding."

"How do you three know so much about first aid?"

"We grew up in Satellite," Crow explained, still squeezing the bag to make the fluids enter his arm. "We learned very quickly how to treat most injuries." The conversation was then interrupted when two paramedics burst through the door with a stretcher, stopping just in front of Hell Kaiser as Jack and Yusei both reached to pick him up.

"He's suffered an internal bleed from crush injuries to his ribs," Jack informed them. "He's lost blood and his heart has already stopped once from it.

"He'll need more fluids and blood then," one of the paramedics stated as they ran out the door, followed by the three young men. At the ambulance they slid the stretcher into the vehicle and hopped in the back, where the three got in as well and closed the doors. Then, the vehicle started off at full speed towards the hospital. "We're lucky the hospital is so close to here."

"And we're also lucky that you three were here," the other man said while he was reaching for an IV bag of blood. When the bag of fluids was empty, he took out the tube from the needle and inserted the tube from the blood bag. "This man would be dead if you three hadn't done what you did."

* * *

Back at the underground Old Momentum lair, Paradox reappeared inside the catacomb with a brand new card in his hand – the Sin form of Ryo's Cyber End Dragon, with its new art and lore. Holding the card up to the Old Momentum, the orange glow began to intensify, and then it entered a heartbeat-like state of increasing and decreasing glow.

Seconds later, the glow further intensified to a fever level, until its glow consumed the underground catacomb and Paradox disappeared into the light. When it died down, he found himself standing in a desert-like realm, with a clear sky and three suns, at a dune that appeared to be slightly deformed. It almost resembled a tree, and so Paradox knew he had found what he wanted.

He then held up two cards, his two newest Sins. When he did, they both glowed brightly and released streams of light – one rainbow, one silvery – that struck into the dune with a thud and scattered the sand everywhere. As it blew over, the two growling dragons appeared, their bodies entwined in opposite directions around a metal structure.

A helicopter platform. The one which Yuki Judai and Professor Cobra had dueled on in Judai's third year, the year of the Yubel Cataclysm. The one which had accompanied them to this world before toppling into the sand. He had found it. "Take flight, Sin Dragons!"

With a pair of roars, both monsters used their wings to pull their upper bodies into the sky, causing their bodies to pull the tower into a vertical position. When it got there, a huge golden glow of light exploded from the structure, consuming both dragons, the platform and Paradox, leaving behind no trace of any of them when it died away.

Seconds later, back in the human world, the Old Momentum's Reactor began to glow more intensely still, with a vortex opening at the top of its conical gear system. Slowly, the top of the helicopter pad began to rise out of said vortex, followed by its vertical column. Eventually the whole structure was through the vortex, and when it closed it fused said platform into the Old Momentum's Reactor.

Standing atop the platform as its body became lined with the orange circuit board pattern of the Momentum, Paradox looked out from the Satellite to the Main Island of Neo Domino City, and underneath his mask he smiled a sinister smile.

**Card of the Week – Hell Kaiser**

**Cyber End Dragon**

**Type:** LIGHT

**Level:** 10

**Family****:** [Machine/Fusion/Effect]

Effect: "Cyber Dragon" + "Cyber Dragon" +"Cyber Dragon"

This card's Fusion Summon must be conducted with the above monsters. When this card attacks a Defence Position Monster, if its DEF is less than this card's ATK, the difference is inflicted to your opponent as Battle Damage.

**ATK/** 4000

**DEF/** 2800

*Things are starting to take a strange new turn. Just wait and see. Review if you wish.*


	20. At the End of the Conflict

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Author's Note:** As of this chapter, the posting schedule is being changed from 3 days to 1 week due to lack of reader response.

**Chapter**** 20 – At the End of the Conflict, Taiyou vs. Endymion**

Within the confines of the Magician Realm's prison, Taiyou saw that the chamber they had placed him in was one harbouring a figure he thought he would never see again. Staring back at him, with red eyes on black scleras, he recognized the form of the demon whose existence had brought him nothing but misery.

"Maenou," Taiyou hissed out, looking back at the demon with a scathing remark. Its form had changed; its four fan-like wings had been replaced by two larger, bladed wings; its talons were cracked, and some broken; and its eyes were sunken. However, he still recognized the dark tan skin, rotten left face and gold face paint that marked the demon as Maenou. "I thought I destroyed you the first time!"

"Unfortunately, Taiyou, you had not," the demon replied, its dark voice stoic to the point almost of being monotone. "Your power severely weakened me, and splitting me from Armityle further intensified that process; but I was not destroyed. It is almost impossible to truly destroy a Duel Spirit, you see."

"I should have known something like this would happen," Taiyou stated angrily. "You're working with Placido and Paradox, aren't you?"

"I know neither of those two names," the demon replied. "But what I do know… is that I can now take what I wanted the first time." The demonic figure then jumped at Taiyou, who barely managed to jump backwards in time to escape before the long talons on Maenou's knuckles cut straight through his face.

"You think I'll die here, on my home soil?!"

"I know that your world is falling apart at the hands of civil discord," Maenou replied. "In the process of democracy, chaos can always be created when ideas conflict. I had no hand in it at all; but I intend to savour the results."

Suddenly, Maenou jumped at Taiyou again; this time, Taiyou's jump back was cut short when he struck the door to the structure. He could not see it in the darkness, but he knew he was trapped like a rat in a maze. Stepping slowly forward, the homicidal demon advanced slowly towards him, insanity glaring in its eyes.

Suddenly, the door to the prison swung open, bathing the inside in light and making Maenou cover his eyes. Taiyou felt himself get grabbed by the back and pulled out of the structure; and a second later he found himself outside, with Yubel standing beside him.

"Taiyou, stand back and allow me to deal with this creature," Yubel insisted before jumping into the open doorway to the structure, blacking Maenou's path. She paled before the 7-foot-tall, well-muscled form of the other demon, and his wings and talons were larger than hers, but she felt no fear as the being rushed her.

"So, you choose to defend this former mortal over siding with one of your own!" Maenou raged, swinging his arm at Yubel and forcing her to jump back slightly to dodge it.

"I was once human as well," Yubel replied. "You should have known that if you wanted to emulate me with a human host." When these words frustrated Maenou, Yubel added, "And furthermore, you were a Ka from a human soul; so technically, we are both the same kind as the humans."

"That matters not," Maenou protested, carrying an irate expression. "You and I have the power to rule, and to do as we please; yet you reduce yourself to being the lapdog of a miserable human and his friends!" In reply to this, Yubel hissed and gained an equally angered face to Maenou's. "You could be so much more… what a waste of a life."

Without warning, Maenou jumped at Yubel again, slashing through a wing she used to defend herself and leaving a gash in her chest. In retaliation, Yubel grabbed Maenou by the face with her left hand, causing a huge black of dark energy to shoot out the back of his head before she threw him back further into the darkness.

"You should be ashamed of yourself!" Yubel screamed at him, while he staggered to get to his feet. "You devoted yourself to serving the Pharaoh Atem, and to helping him preserve peace in his kingdom. That was your true cause! Now you've thrown it all away for misanthropic delusions of grandeur. What would the Pharaoh think of you now?"

Looking back with a stunned expression, Maenou realized that Yubel was right; he had abandoned his true task for the sake of power. "You can still make things right," Yubel added. "Side with us in this battle, and I will see you returned to your Pharaoh in the afterlife."

Maenou, whose face had gone from surprise to solemnity, looked back and simply replied, "Then I will indeed help you." With a nod, Yubel extended out her left arm all the way, then quickly folded it back in over her chest. In a flash, a card materialized in her hand as Maenou dissolved into darkness, entering the card and disappearing altogether.

When she stepped outside, Yubel showed to Taiyou the card she had just materialized, and he confirmed for himself that Maenou was now a true Duel Spirit. Forming the Duel Disc on her arm, Yubel placed the Maenou card on top, and then the Duel Disc sank back into her arm and she looked down at her wound.

"That's gonna leave a mark," Taiyou stated, looking at the injury with a look of pain of his own.

"Not as long as you might think," Yubel replied, touching her right hand to the right edge of the slash and moving it leftwards. As it did, the mark was erased, leaving no evidence that it was ever there, except for a feint residue of what looked like blood.

"Why have you come here?" Taiyou asked of Yubel, not being aware of the events of late. "Ands why is Judai not with you?"

"The three Demons were taken by Placido, and Judai was taken with him," she informed. "He became… detached from the group after an altercation, and went on a rogue mission with Johan and I."

"What?" The news stunned Taiyou; somehow, Placido had figured out a way to get the three Demons from her. "You didn't… lose to him, did you?"

"No, I had a win condition set up," she explained. "He abandoned the duel and sliced off my arm to take them by force."

"That cheating bastard. And I suppose you want me to help you with this task?" When Yubel nodded, he sorrowfully replied, "I would love to help you, but I'm afraid that cannot be done. There is unrest brewing here, and a Civil War is currently a real possibility."

"Not is we have anything to say about it," Norsewemko's voice suddenly issued. Turning, Yubel and Taiyou saw here there, as well as three magicians in white robes with blue Magic Counter orbs on them. "Kenshi Taiyou, you have been summoned by the Council Tribunal to face a punishment other than this confinement."

"What punishment?" he asked, clearly not surprised but not anymore accepting.

"You and your Master will be pitted against each other, with the loser being exiled," the female magician informed, producing hateful glares on the faces of both Taiyou and Yubel. "If either of you opts out, then you both face exile." Pointing her staff at Yubel, she added, "and as for you, the Council will decide if aiding a traitor warrants execution in this case."

"You don't have the authority to touch me," Yubel replied strongly. "I am the right hand of the Supreme King, who is not a part of your Magicians' race; therefore, I do not fall under your jurisdiction. Passing punishment on me violates the peace treaty issued in this world. Besides, you don't want to try."

"Are you threatening me?" Norsewemko asked, seeming very angry at Yubel's statement and apparently trying to refrain from striking her.

"No, I am promising you this: touch me, and you will not live to regret it, you bureaucratic bitch."

"Don't tempt me to harm you, half-breed," Norsewemko threatened back. "I am capable of far more than you know." Returning her attention to Taiyou, she stated, "Unless you want your Master and your pink-skinned friend here to be stoned in the coliseum, I suggest you cooperate."

"Then I guess I have no choice," Taiyou replied, seemingly defeated. With that two of the magicians came up to either side of Taiyou and grabbed his arms, so as not to let him escape. Another then grabbed Yubel, not to bind her but to keep track of her, and then the whole procession began to make their way into the city once again.

***

In the middle of a jade coliseum-like structure, Endymion stood awaiting Taiyou's arrival, thousands of Magicians in the seats and yelling either scathing remarks or supporting statements to him. He reacted to none of them, but retained his stern expression the whole time.

When Taiyou stepped into the other side of the ring, looking incredibly angry and carrying his Duel Disc, Endymion stated to him, "I am so sorry that this situation has arisen, my friend."

"Don't be," Taiyou replied. "Something had to be done. And if either of us is sent to exile, I will not give up hope. I will fight until the end."

"I expect nothing less from my best student," Endymion replied, producing his Duel Disc on his arm and activating it Taiyou then pulled his own Duel Disc onto his arm, activating it but not putting his Deck in yet.

"There are three special rules which will apply in this match," Norsewemko's voice yelled out to the crowd from a box normally reserved for Endymion. "Firstly, any attempt at stalling the match will result in immediate loss. Secondly, the duel cannot be ended in a draw; if both players' Life Points hit 0, the player who caused it is treated as the loser. Thirdly, any attempt to throw the duel for the other person is punishable by execution. Am I made clear?"

When both players, angry as they were, nodded in acceptance, Norsewemko yelled out, "You may begin!" As both players put their Decks into their Duel Discs, Norsewemko sat down in the Imperial-looking chair at the centre of the box, two robed magicians sitting on her left, the third and Yubel on her right.

When their Decks had shuffled, Both players drew five cards in a single motion and Endymion stated, "Even if this isn't by choice, we must agree for each others' sake to provide a strong, passionate duel."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

With a confident smile on Taiyou's face and a respectful one on Endymion's, the two combatants yelled, "DUEL!"

Taiyou: LP 4000

Endymion: LP 4000

"The student will take the first move!" Taiyou yelled. "Draw! I summon Magical Archer (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)!" Placing the card down on the tray, Taiyou called up a green-cloaked figure in 15th-Century clothing and carrying a bow and arrow with a Magic Counter on it, which then lit up. "I set three cards and end my turn!"

"Then it is my turn," Endymion stated. "I draw, and I activate the Field Magic, Magical City Endymion." Extending a sixth section of the tray pout, Endymion played his card and conjured up a field that resembled their city, minus the occupants. "Next I shall call upon the Crusader of Endymion (ATK: 1900, LV: 4)."

Placing the card onto a Monster Zone, Endymion called up the beige-clad, blue-armoured figure in a closed-off helmet as he reached for another card in his hand. "Next, I arm my Crusader with the Equip Magic, Halberd of Endymion." In the hands of the monster before Endymion then appeared the long recurved blade with axe-like heads, studded with Magic Counters; and as it did do, a counter appeared on the floating card for the Field.

"Due to this card my Crusader receives additional attack strength of 500 points for each Endymion Card I control; currently, I control three, so my monster gains 1500 points (ATK: 3400). Battle! Attack Magical Archer!" Jumping straight forwards, Endymion's monster swung its weapon at Taiyou's monster, which jumped up into the air as Taiyou flipped a card.

"I activate a Trap Card, Magician's Barrier – Magic Force! I remove a Magic Counter from a Magic User-Type Monster I control to destroy an opponent's Attack Position Monster for each removed Counter, and end the Battle Phase!" Reacting, the monster Taiyou controlled shot an arrow from its bow into Endymion's monster, making it explode as the counter on the other monster's bow died down.

"An impressive counter," Endymion stated, holing up the two cards which had just been destroyed. "But as you well know, the destruction of a monster equipped with Halberd of Endymion allows me to Special Summon one Level 4 or below Endymion Monster from my Cemetery in face-up Defence Position."

"_That's actually a pretty clever move by the Master," _Taiyou realized as Endymion inserted the Magic Card into his Cemetery. _"He sprung my Trap early so he could later use his more powerful monsters without worry."_

"Return, Endymion's Crusader (DEF: 1200, LV: 4)," Endymion instructed, calling back up his monster in a crouching position and over the horizontal image of its card. "Next, I too shall set 3 cards and declare the end of my turn."

"It's my turn," Taiyou declared, reaching for his Deck and pulling a card aggressively. "I Release Magical Archer and Advance Summon Magician's Destroyer (ATK: 2400, LV: 6)!" Disappearing into a neon orb, Taiyou's monster's body released the form of a large, black-armoured magician with red eyes, tan skin, white hair, massive forelimbs and a Magic Counter on the back of each.

"You saved your monster last turn so you could use it for an Advance Summon, did you?" Endymion questioned. "Such an impulsive move, but one that may work out in your favour."

"I don't do anything that won't give me leverage," Taiyou retorted, pointing his open hand at one of his two other set cards. "Permanent magic: Pitch-Black Power Stone! This card now gains 3 Magic Counters!" The image of the card then changed into a large black sphere, upon which three Magic Counter triangles appeared. "Battle! Magician's Destroyer, attack Crusader of Endymion!"

Jumping up and forwards, the larger magician landed in front of its smaller counterpart and punched it with its left hand, smashing it instantly. "Next, due to the effect of Destroyer, you receive 200 points of damage for each Magic Counter on the field!" Grunting, the monster then swung its left fist at Endymion, who jumped backwards to avoid the hit; however, this did not stop the damage.

Taiyou: LP 4000

Endymion: LP 3200

"I activate my Trap Card," Endymion declared, snapping his fingers. "Magician's Duality. In a turn when a Magician is destroyed, every time I receive effect damage, I Special Summon one Magician from my Deck whose ATK is equal to or less than my damage. Come: the Tuner Monster, Eccentric Boy (ATK: 800, LV: 3)."

With its image glowing white, the card released the form of a lanky, slender robed boy with spiky hair, red marks on its face and runic wings on his shoulders. Looking at his hand, Taiyou noted the two monsters – Black Magician and Black Magician Girl – which he could not remove; so Taiyou simply responded, "I end my turn."

"It is my turn," Endymion stated, drawing his hand and flipping it around instantly. "I activate the Magic Card, Spellbooks of the Pot." As he placed the card into his Cemetery, both he and Taiyou pulled 3 cards from their Decks and the field card gained another counter before he added, "Next, I activate my Trap Card: Mutual Destruction."

"_What? No!"_ Taiyou thought, realizing that he had been played and that he was about to suffer for it.

"Due to this Trap Card, we both discard our hands and receive 100 points of Damage for each card we discard; then we draw 5 cards each." Growling, Taiyou slid all 5 cards in his hand into the Cemetery as Endymion calmly did the same with his. As their scores fell, they each reached for 5 new cards and pulled them.

Taiyou: LP 3500

Endymion: LP 2900

"I activate the effect of Eccentric Boy," Endymion declared, holding up a card from his hand. "I may tune this Magician to a Synchro Material Monster in my hand; but the monster's effect is negated and cannot be activated, and if it is removed from the field it is removed from play. Thus, I tune my Level 3 Eccentric Boy with the Level 6 Dark Red Enchanter in my hand."

Behind Endymion then appeared the form of the red-robed tan magician with golden staff as his other creature folded its wings up to form a circular structure. This structure released three green rings before the monster disappeared, and these rings surrounded the other monster. That monster then changed into a yellow outline, then 6 white orbs that fused into a column of light.

"From the great City of the Magicians," Endymion chanted, crossing his arms into a X-shape over his chest as he did so, "arise and join me in this fight, my greatest warrior! Synchro Summon! Appear Now, Paladin of Endymion (ATK: 3200, LV: 9)!"

Out of that light then arose a very tall, muscular magician dressed in gold and obsidian armour that was covered in purple Magic Counters. Its face was partly obscured by a battle helmet, it had a long staff much like a broadsword, a crimson cape and tunic, and an additional staff on its back.

"_So this is the true nature of Master Endymion's Deck," _Taiyou realized._ "I was never told of this Endymion Monster. There are indeed, as I suspected, monsters which he reserves for himself."_

"Next, I summon the Tuner Monster Apprentice of Endymion (ATK: 400, LV: 2)." Placing the card onto the tray, he called up a magician who much resembled Taiyou, but with more pale skin and a face hidden by shadows and an eye-mask. "Also, I activate the Magic Card Rebirth Gate, and Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Magician from my Cemetery for this turn only."

"_He's going for another Synchro Summon."_ As Taiyou thought to himself about this, yet another Counter appeared on the Field Magic.

"Return to me again, Crusader (ATK: 1900, LV: 4)." As the monster reappeared on his field for the second time, he added, "Next I Tune my Level 2 Apprentice to my Level 4 Crusader." As Endymion crossed his arms again, his two monsters jumped up into the air, the weaker changing into 2 green rings and surrounding its counterpart. Said monster then changed into 4 white orbs, and then a column of light.

"Mighty Warrior among Magicians," Endymion chanted again, "Grace this game with your presence and take up arms. Synchro Summon! Appear now, Swordsman of Endymion (ATK: 2600, LV: 6)." Out of the light created emerged a monster in black armour, carrying a Magic Counter-studded sword and wearing a mask over its face. Standing beside its counterpart.

"I activate an Equip Magic, Impact Flip, and I equip it to Paladin," Endymion stated, producing another Counter on his field and a card behind his monster. "Now, I attack your Magician's Destroyer with Paladin of Endymion." Raising up its sword-like staff, the taller magician fired a bolt of energy at Taiyou's monster, vaporizing it on contact.

Taiyou: LP 2700

Endymion: LP 2900

"Next, I declare the direct attack of Swordsman of Endymion." The other of Endymion's Magicians then dove up into the air, then straight at Taiyou and past him, swinging his sword through the disembodied Summoner's form. Taiyou then let out a pained grunt and shook a bit before collapsing on his knees, catching Endymion off-guard.

Taiyou: LP 100

Endymion: LP 2900

Looking up at Norsewemko's box, Endymion said up to her hostilely, "What is the meaning of this?"

"There is no entertainment for the people until the blasphemer is tortured appropriately," she answered, causing shock by the two combatants and Yubel.

"Of all the twisted stunts," Yubel observed. "You're pitting those two against each other hang having them feel pain for your own sick amusement."

"This cannot continue!" Endymion yelled up. "I will not be made to harm Taiyou! I'd sooner perish than turn against my own Cavalier!"

"I wouldn't ask that, Endymion," Taiyou stated, getting back to his feet and using his left hand to hold himself up by propping it against his femur. "This is a good duel, better than anything I've experienced since passing on. I want to enjoy the extremity."

"Are you sure?" Endymion asked, legitimately surprised by such a strange statement.

"Of course I am," Taiyou answered, flipping up one of his card. "Trap Card Open: Damage Gate! I Special Summon one monster from the Cemetery whose ATK is equal to or less than my damage. Return, Skilled Black Magician (ATK: 1900, LV: 4)." All of a sudden a card slipped from Taiyou's Cemetery and he held it up, creating a magician in very black robes and with three purple orbs along its chest.

"Then I activate the effect of Swordsman," Endymion stated. "Because my monster inflicted damage with another Endymion card in play, I destroy an opponent's Magic or Trap Card. I select your stone." All of a sudden the black sphere exploded, causing three new Counters to appear on the city.

"Also, since the monster equipped with Impact Flip destroyed a monster in battle, your top card is sent to the Cemetery." Pulling a card from his Deck, Taiyou immediately deposited said card into his Cemetery. "I set one card and declare my turn over."

"Then I draw!" Taiyou yelled, pulling a card from his Deck. "I set one card, and I activate Blasting Vein!" As he held up the card and it appeared in front of him, he stated, "Next I chain Emergency Rations! By sending Blasting Vein to the Cemetery, I recover 1000 Life Points; then, due to Blasting Vein, I destroy my set card and draw 2 cards."

As the third bard appeared, the second one faded out and the first one exploded, causing Taiyou to pull 2 cards, 2 Counters to appear on Endymion's Field, 2 orbs on Taiyou's monster to light up, and his Life Points to increase.

Taiyou: LP 1100

Endymion: LP 2900

"Magic Activate: Emblem of Dragon Destroyer!" Taiyou declared, reaching for his Deck. "I add Buster Blader to my hand." When he grabbed the card he had named from his Deck, the third orb on his monster lit up and Taiyou reached for his Cemetery. "Next, because three counters are on my monster, I release it and revive my Black Magician (ATK: 2500, LV: 7)!"

With his monster exploding, Taiyou grabbed a card as it slid from his Cemetery and slammed it into his tray, calling up his tan-skinned magician in red armour and with white hair. "Now here's the fun part," Taiyou added, smiling as he held up two cards in his hand, "I fuse Buster Blader and Black Magician!"

The magician before Taiyou jumped up into a swirling vortex, where it was joined by a hulking warrior in dark purple armour and carrying a massive broadsword. The two monsters then spiralled together as Taiyou chanted, "When the sword and the spell join forces, a new power is awakened to shake the earth and cast out all darkness. Fusion Summon! Come forth: Super Magical Swordsman – Black Paladin (ATK: 2900, LV: 8)!"

From the vortex then appeared a brand new monster; one clad in dark green armoured robes covered in dark blue Magic Counters. Its staff was much like a many-curved blade, its white hair and bluish skin stuck out from its curved helm, and its piercing eyes look at Endymion with total stoicism. "Equip Magic: Magic Absorbing Sabre!"

The blade of the Magician before Taiyou was then changed into a longer, hook-ended one with several Magic Counter orbs on it. "Now for the fun part: I activate Magic Seize as well, so I place upon this card two magic counters and add a new one to my hand. For each counter, the equipped monster gains 1000 ATK (ATK: 4900)."

As he grabbed the card from his Deck, Taiyou's monster lit up 2 orbs on its staff and raised its power; then Taiyou added another card. "Magic Activate: Diffusion Wave-Motion! By paying 1000 Life Points, I allow my Paladin (ATK: 5900) to attack every monster you control!"

"What?" Endymion asked, showing for a rare occasion true shock and awe, his red hair flying back as he looked on at Taiyou. "With those attack points…"

"Exactly," Taiyou stated, giving off a confident face. Moments later, though, he looked down at his Duel Disc in a lamenting way and thought, _"Of course, my winning means exile for my friend and master."_

Closing his eyes, Taiyou thought back to some of the battles he had taken part in, from his duels with Kyojo to his experiences with the Duel Mob, and the life-or-death matches against Crimson and Maenou. _"With every match I've fought, it's been for the good of myself and my friends; but now, I'm fighting so avoid being sent away by my own people, and doing so means selling out my mentor._

"_If I can ever truly take part in the battle with Placido, the battle with Paradox, the civil war, I need to know who I am. I have a warrior's iron will, strength and resolve; but now I find myself questioning my own motives, wondering where I went wrong. How can I fight my enemies when I'm caught in the conflict with my own tribe?"_

Taiyou was then awakened from his thoughts by Endymion's voice stating across the field, "Do not hold back, Taiyou. You can continue on in my absence; but that only applies if you are willing to fight. I won't hold it against you to defeat me; I'd be proud, that my best student had the valour to stand against me for what he believes in."

Realizing the weight of these words, Taiyou clenched his hand into a fist, which he then pointed at Endymion as he yelled, "As long as I live, as long as I exist, I will never back down. With Black Paladin by my side, there is no lack of resolve. Battle!"

Jumping up into the air, Taiyou's magician twirled his blade around for several seconds before pointing it at Endymion's monsters before several shockwaves shot from it, hurtling straight towards them. But then, Endymion flipped his set card and declared, "I activate Magician's Barrier. During this turn, because I control a Magician, all my damage goes to 0!"

As the shockwaves struck through the monster and caused then to explode, Endymion raised his hand defiantly and created a dome over himself, meaning his Life Points went untouched.

Taiyou: LP 100

Endymion: LP 2900

"When the Equip Magic Impact Flip is sent to the Cemetery, both players draw a card. But before that, I chain Magic Textbooks!" Flipping his Instant Magic Card, Endymion inserted the one card in his hand into the Cemetery as Taiyou looked on in contemplation. Deciding not to negate the effect, he watched as Endymion pulled a card for his Deck, and then gasped when he spun it around.

"I activate Treasures of Heaven, and give us both a fresh hand of 6 cards; plus, Impact Flip's effect, which brings our hands to 7 cards." With that Endymion pulled 7 new cards from his Deck; Taiyou, who was not regretting his move, pulled 6 new cards from his Deck to make a full hand before reaching for another card.

"Due to your Magic Cards, I now have 5 Counters on my Sabre," Taiyou explained. "Thus, I send it to the Cemetery to activate Magic Rejuvenation, and draw 2 cards." As the card on his Magician disappeared, its blade reverted to normal and he pulled 2 new cards; then, he took them and 3 other cards and set them. "I end my turn."

"Then I draw," Endymion stated before pointing up at the card for his Field. "Thanks to all the Magic Cards this game, the Magical City Endymion has collected 17 Magic Counters in all. By removing 6 of them, I may now Special Summon… myself, the Divine Magician Deity – Endymion (ATK: 2700, LV: 7)!"

As everyone in the arena, including Taiyou, looked on in total surprise, 6 of the 17 orbs left the card and merged together on the ground, creating a vertical column of light that released a monster identical to its user, minus the Duel Disc and with its staff in its hand rather than slung on its back.

"Due to this monster's effect, I add Halberd of Endymion back to my hand," Endymion reminded, the card sliding from his Cemetery slot and him grabbing it before holding up another card. "Next, I discard the Magic Card, magic Formula, and I destroy your Paladin!"

"Counter Trap: Phantom of Darkness!" Taiyou declared, flipping up his first card. "I negate an opponent's card effect targeting a DARK Monster I control, and I destroy said card!" Lightning then shot from the card beside Taiyou, striking the Magician which Endymion had summoned and exploding it while he threw his card into the Cemetery.

"Very well," Endymion replied nonchalantly. "I activate the Magic Card, Dark Allure, and I draw 2 cards." _"If Taiyou summoned that monster for the reason I think he did, he'll try and negate this card; I can keep taxing his hand until it's empty, and then I'll have him."_

"If you thought I'd negate that card, you've underestimated me, Master," Taiyou responded. "Trap Card Open: Spirit's Mirror! I negate the effect of Allure and use it as my own card!" Endymion then threw his card into the Cemetery as the reflection of it appeared in the mirror on the card's art; but when Taiyou drew his cards, he looked at them in shock.

"_I... I can't believe this. __There are no DARK Monsters in this hand; there are no monsters at all!"_ Growling in anger, he took the five cards in his hand and put them into the Cemetery, the card which had caused this disappearing. Looking back at him, Endymion smiled confidently, creating an unusual reversal of roles.

"How interesting," he observed. "Rather than just negate my card by discarding, and being done with it, you gambled and lost your whole hand. Now, your Paladin cannot negate my magic cards. But first, I again remove 6 Magic Counters to resurrect my Magician Deity (ATK: 2700, LV: 7)."

At that moment, six more of the orbs from the card shot off the card for the field to bring back the magician who had just been destroyed; then, another card was produced from Endymion's Cemetery. "Next, due to my monster's effect, I once again add a Magic Card from my Cemetery to my hand; this time, my selection is Magic Formula."

"_That's an odd card to add back to his hand," _Taiyou realized._ "What is he planning?"_

"I equip Halberd of Endymion to my Magician Deity, and since I control 4 Endymion cards he gains 2000 more ATK (ATK: 4700). Now, I attack Black Paladin with Endymion!" With that the magician's staff changed to adopt the bladed weapon and charged Taiyou's monster; at that time, Taiyou flipped a card.

"Permanent Trap Open: Samsara Dogma!" He declared, showing off his card. "I now change the type of all monsters in both Cemeteries to one of my choosing, and I select…"

"I'm afraid not!" Endymion interrupted, holding up a card from his hand. "I activate the Instant Magic Card, Instant Freeze! I change an opponent's Trap Card back to reverse position, and lock it as such until my third End Phase!" Suddenly, a beam shot from Endymion's card that struck Taiyou's Trap Card, causing it to flip back over.

"You're too predictable my apprentice," Endymion taunted. "Your aim was to change all our monsters into Dragons, so your Paladin would grow stronger than my monster; however, now your card is sealed."

"Maybe, but I can still fight back," Taiyou shot out. "Instant Magic: Shrink! I select 1 face-up monster, and I halve its ATK. And the monster I choose is… Endymion!"

"I am sorry, but once again you have failed," Endymion stated. "Instant Magic: Magic Reflection! I change the target of your Instant Magic from my Endymion to your Paladin, halving its already lower points (ATK: 1450)!" As soon as Endymion threw out this card, the green-ish magician was surrounded by a red aura as its powers were drained, Taiyou looking on in total dismay.

"You seem so eager to trump me," Taiyou observed. "I see that the pressure of the bureaucrats has finally gotten to you."

"No such thing is true," Endymion clarified. "I want to make sure you are strong enough to fight if I am not with you. One of us must be gone; it's best it be the weaker."

"I hate to think you'd be weak, master," Taiyou sneered, "but I've still got one card up my sleeve. Last Reverse Card Open: Trap Card, Force of the Divine Magician!" By paying half my Life Points when my weaker Magician battles an opponent's monster, I remove all Counters from the Magical City Endymion to add 500 Points to my monster for each one until this turn's End Phase!"

"You what?" Endymion questioned, completely stunned. He then watched as every one of the eight built-up Counters left the card, flying towards Taiyou's monster and dissolving into it. Then, its power increased (ATK: 5450) and it jumped up into the air, raising its blade.

"I'm sorry Master," Taiyou stated, "but you've brought this on yourself! Black Paladin, destroy the Divine Magician Deity!" Letting out a battle cry, the monster swung its weapon and cleaved the black-clad magician cleanly in two, causing the halves to explode while the victor descended and Endymion looked on in awe.

Taiyou: LP 50

Endymion: LP 2150

"It's over, Endymion," Taiyou observed flatly. "Your City is stricken of all Counters, leaving you no hope of resurrecting your monster, and that means nothing you control can stop my monster now!"

"I still have the ability to fight, Taiyou," Endymion reminded, "and so I will continue. Due to my Halberd, I Special Summon my Crusader in Defence Position again (DEF: 1200, LV: 4)." Once again the horizontal card image of the monster appeared right before that Magician reappeared, crouching. "I set one card and end my turn."

"Then in the End Phase, Black Paladin's power returns to normal (ATK: 2900)."

"Then it no longer has the attack strength to attack and wipe out my Life Points," Endymion observed. "By next turn, I will defeat you unless you can bring me down now."

"Then I draw!" Taiyou declared, pulling his card and turning it around in a flash. "I activate Avarice Pot! With this, I return Black Magician, Buster Blader, Skilled Black Magician, Magical Archer and Magician's Destroyer to my Deck!" His Cemetery glowing, the five mentioned cards shot out from Taiyou's Cemetery and he grabbed them, shuffling them and pulling two new cards.

"I activate the Instant Magic, Cyclone!" Placing the card onto the tray, Taiyou generated a whirlwind that shot from said card and struck Endymion's set card, shattering it. Smiling, Endymion then took the card from his Duel Disc and placed it into the Cemetery.

Looking at his last card, Taiyou the said, "I'm terribly sorry, Master, that events have led to this. Everything has become a tangled mess of chaos; allies being turned against each other, enemies around every corner. I only hope that nothing here will interfere with you and I being brothers in arms."

"Show me what you have," Endymion challenged, causing Taiyou to flip around the remaining card in his hand.

"I activate Magician's Guild! For each Magician on the field, the equipped monster gains 500 ATK and DEF!" Starting to glow purple, an aura formed around Taiyou's Magician, causing its power to rise (ATK: 4400) and prompting it to raise its weapon. "Battle!"

As he said these words, his monster jumped forward and swung its weapon, slashing straight through the body of Endymion's monster and making it explode. There then erupted a shockwave that kicked up a huge cloud of dust; and when it faded, Endymion stood there with his head bowed.

Taiyou: LP 50

Endymion: LP 0

As the Solid Vision died down, Taiyou walked over towards Endymion, his Duel Disc deactivating as he did so. When he got there, Taiyou said to his Master, "What now?"

"Now, I must face my fate," was the stoic reply as the Magician looked up to the sky. As he did, Norsewemko stood in her box and looked down at Endymion, smirking.

"Then the duel is over," the female magician declared. "With Endymion as the loser, he is by the rules of this competition subject to exile."

"Yes, I will leave," Endymion stated, stoically. "But, I will not go alone." When Norsewemko gasped at this, Endymion turned to the crowd and yelled, "My brethren of the Dominion of Beasts, I appeal to you one last time as your Chancellor and ask you to look into your hearts."

"What are you doing?" Norsewemko barked, Endymion ignoring her as Yubel smiled and disappeared from beside her, only to reappear beside Taiyou.

"If you believe that Norsewemko is right, that my Leadership is a failure and this world's harm is my fault, then side with her and believe what you will; but if you believe, as I do, that this is a lie and that justice should be served for this world, then I beseech you to join me in my fight."

After he said these words, all of the Magicians among the seats of the Coliseum stood up, all of them chattering in some way. Many were arguing and yelling at Endymion, while others still were yelling allegiance to Endymion. It was at this time, seeing this large commotion, that Taiyou finally spoke up and yelled out.

"If Norsewemko thinks she can simply take from us our right to choose a leader, then we shall not back down. We shall fight her for that right; and if that means war, then so be it!" Just then, several members of the procession raised their fists in a defiant yell, and then they began to descend upon the floor to join with the two Magicians.

"We will not have our society taken from us by the bureaucracies of this world!" one of the Magicians, namely Breaker, shouted out. "Come as it may, this war will decide our freedoms!"

"Freedom can no longer be expected," another Magician, namely Black Magician of Chaos, a black-clad magician with red straps and a ram-horn-like headdress, welled out defiantly. "It must be guaranteed in battle!"

By the time everyone had made their way to the floor of the Coliseum, there was a collaboration of roughly 1000 Magicians, all ready to fight for what they believed in. Standing and chanting in protest, they looked up at Norsewemko with their angry and determined faces and the woman Magician simply grimaced, disgusted at such rebellion within an otherwise-peaceful society.

Turning to Yubel, Taiyou looked to her and said regretfully, "I am sorry, my dear friend; you know how much I wish I could help you, and it pains me to know what is happening. However, I must fight for my people before I can fight for my friends; but fear not, because once this mess is over, I will be there to fight alongside the Signers."

"I understand," Yubel replied with a bittersweet smile. "I will return and await your arrival. And, I wish you the bets of luck." With that Yubel simply faded out, leaving Taiyou only surrounded by the Magicians; and then he rejoined the protest.

"This bureaucracy has brought nothing but frustration and segregation to our people," Taiyou declared, adding to the folly already taking place. "The time is now to remove it, and return to a proper sovereignty free of political hierarchy!" As he spoke, all the Magicians around him cheered and roared, while the few remaining Magicians among the stands ran for the exits, hoping to get to safety.

"It's too late to hide behind political red tape now," Endymion stated up to Norsewemko smugly, further irritating the woman. "This war is going to happen, and it is up to you how many lives are lost for the sake of insane ambition."

"I will not fall to Frail Archaic Wizards and half-breeds," Norsewemko then shot back. "You will fall, and I will claim what is mine!"

**Card of the Week – Taiyou**

**Super Magical Swordsman – Black Paladin**

**Type:** DARK

**Level:** 8

**Family:** [Machine/Fusion/Effect]

Effect: "Black Magician" + "Buster Blader"

This card cannot be Special Summoned outside of a Fusion Summon. Activate by discarding one card from your hand. Negate the activation and effect of a Magic Card and destroy it. Also, increase this card's ATK by 500 Points for each Dragon-Type Monster on the field and in both Cemeteries.

**ATK/** 2900

**DEF/** 2400

*Things are starting to take a strange new turn. Just wait and see. Review if you wish.*


	21. What Secrets Lay Hidden by the Past

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 21 – What Secrets lay Hidden by the Past**

Standing over the viewing screen of their lair, the trio of Jose, Placido and Lucciano watched with a grain of discontent as they watched the Magicians in the Dominion of Beasts, rallying like American Revolution Patriots and Empire Loyalists as they prepared for war. Knowing of the civil unrest, Placido had told the other two of this looming incident; and now they were prepared to watch it through to the end.

"This is precisely why bureaucracies do not function," Placido deduced, passing a judgment upon the uproarious world. "They learned of human government from Taiyou and remodeled their Empire after a human democratic government; ironically, it was so they could avoid conflict."

"And now doing so has led them to what some might say was an inevitable result," Lucciano chimed in, just as solemn. "It's so sad to think that so much tension could build up among the most peaceful of beings."

"This also poses a complication for our plans," Jose realized, informing the other two. "If they cannot achieve civility, then it does not bode well for us trying to make an ideal society. Unless they can achieve piece, there is no hope for humans becoming a neutral world."

"And what's worse," Placido pointed out, "should this conflict erupt into a full war, with more than just the Magicians involved, it could spill over into our world, causing enormous damage. We need to ensure that nothing of that nature occurs, or we have no chance of completing our project."

"This is Paradox's doing, that's for sure," Lucciano said bitterly. "He created this conflict, if not directly then through manipulation."

"For now, Paradox is less of a concern than the Signers," Placido reminded his female counterpart. "If our situation changes, we may even have to form an alliance with them."

Meanwhile, several stories below the ground and where the Infinity Trio were, Judai lay sprawled out, semiconscious and dazed. The green Infinity mark glowing on his forehead seemed to trap him there, leaving him unable to make any sort of motion or recognize his surroundings. Laying in his limp position, he simply remained like a statue while the above group were conversing.

Suddenly, without any sort of warning, the eyes of Judai burst back into life when his irises changed into the glowing golden eyes of the Supreme King, the energy surge causing the Infinity to shatter. With his mind free, Judai stood up and leaned back against the wall, using his enhanced vision to look around at his surroundings. Looking back to the opposite wall, his night vision allowed him to see the stone walls covered in glyphic symbols, one of which took him by surprise: the Crimson Dragons' Seal.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted when his cell phone started vibrating in its Duel Disc compartment. He wasted no time in pulling out the device and looking at the call display, revealing the caller as none other than mercenary Austin O'Brien. When Judai answered the phone, he heard on the other end, "Where are you Judai?"

"And good to speak to you as well O'Brien," Judai replied, listening carefully as O'Brien explained to him that the Professor had been attempting to contact him but had failed. "I never received any calls from him in reply," he then clarified. "Perhaps they've been intercepted, or somehow erased from the memory."

"Well, either way I have the information he discovered," O'Brien informed. "When he failed to reach you, he gave me his findings. As it turns out, there are no records of the Saviors among the stories from 5,000 years ago; however, there are older stories, dating from roughly 10,000 years ago."

"10,000 you say?" Judai inquired, somewhat curious as he remembered the incident many years ago with Dartz and the Doma Organization. "Tell me, are these recordings in the mythos of Atlantis?"

"Indeed they are. According to the stories, the Crimson Dragon was represented by a similar creature in those myths, which sent 5 Gods down from the heavens as its apostles to watch over humanity."

"And those apostles are the Saviors?"

"Not quite," O'Brien stated. "Apparently, the monsters were too powerful to grace the earth in their existing forms; they would cause natural disaster simply by coming near the earth. As such, portions of their souls were split from them and used to create avatars upon the earth."

"The Five Signer Dragons," Judai realized, saying his thought under his breath. "Thank you O'Brien; that's quite a bit of help to us."

"Where exactly are you?" O'Brien finally asked. "I heard about you splitting off from the group, and then nobody can tell me where you went."

"I'm in a very old building," Judai explained, "one with glyphs of the People of the Stars. I think… that this is the inside of the Sky Temple."

"Are you sure?"

"I couldn't be more certain."

"Then I will alert the others," O'Brien agreed. "I'll pass along your location, and tell them that you're safe and sound."

"Very well," Judai responded, "but don't rush them. I'm in no danger at this moment; I think Placido wants to keep me here, intact, as bait."

"Either way, we can't just leave you there," O'Brien reasoned. "I'll still inform them."

"Very well." With that the other end of the line went dead and the phone shut off, and so Judai put his phone back into his Duel Disc and returned to gazing upon the walls, observing all the glyphs.

* * *

In the Poppo Time area, the unconscious bodies of David and Reggie were laying inanimate upon a large bed, being held until they were to be removed in whatever way they decided. Watching them were Aki and Kiryu; with everyone who had gone elsewhere, they were the only adults left on the premises.

"What exactly do we intend to get out of them?" Kiryu asked impatiently, annoyed both at being stuck with the task and the presence of the two Yliaster members. "They're out cold and they're enemies; even if they wake up, which they might never do, they will be disinclined to help us."

"We can't simply dispose of them in this situation," Aki pointed out, not much more interested but certainly more sympathetic. "They're still humans, and they deserve to live."

"That doesn't mean we need to hold them," Kiryu objected, turning his back and making Aki do the same. "What is our next plan of attack anyway? With all Five Saviors awakened, doesn't that mean we're close to the end of the story?"

"Not yet," Aki responded, not noticing while David's eyes snapped open, then quickly looked around and closed them again. About a second later Reggie too opened her eyes, closing them right away, and then tapping David's hand with her fingers to let hum know. "Think you're cut out to watch these two by yourself? I need to use the toilet."

"I think I can manage," Kiryu said sarcastically, making both of them slime and chuckle slightly before Aki stepped out of the room. Kiryu then turned back around, and noticed that David's hand was in a slightly different position than before. Bending over to get a closer look, he was caught completely off-guard when David's fist shot up into Kiryu's face, knocking him back on the floor.

Without missing a beat, David and Reggie both snapped their eyes open and jumped up, the former grabbing the injured Kiryu and jamming him face-down into the pillows. Reggie then quietly started moving around, out of the room and looking around for Aki. In the hallway, she watched the underside of all the doors until she found one that was closed with the light on inside.

Having found the target, she then motioned to David to come over to where she was, which he did quickly and quietly. Reggie then stepped aside and let David stepped directly in front of the door, waiting with a malicious smile on his face. A few seconds later, the light was shut off and Aki opened the door from the other side, only for David to grab her and headlock her.

"Let go of me!" Aki yelled out, clawing at David for a few seconds. His response was to tighten his grip, which made Aki start gasping and quickly pass out. With Kiryu unconscious, David slung Aki over her shoulder and the two cohorts started running down the hallway and the stairs.

The two then quickly ran all the way to the garage door and through it, finding David's black D-Wheel and getting on it. Aki was placed on the back of the vehicle, behind Reggie, and the two Yliaster goons then grabbed and put on helmets. With that David started up his vehicle and gunned the motor, shooting through the closed corrugated door and out into the streets.

"Just wait until we get back to Placido with this girl," David finally said to Reggie, both of them sneering. "This will give us leverage over the Signers for sure."

"With their ranks dispersed, there's no way they can launch a united strike against us," Reggie pointed out in agreement as they turned off the main highway down some more covert roads. "They'll simply walk into the lion's jaws and be devoured."

All of a sudden, David's vision spanned back to the road in time to see a figure dart out into the side street they were currently on, forcing him to swerve to the side and brake the vehicle. "Hey, watch it!" he bellowed. "What do you think you're doing?" When he got a look at the figure, however, he was stunned.

Standing in the street, a malicious smile on his face, was Johan; but not as David had seen him. His eyes were once again orange, his clothes were the blue-strapped dark clothes that Yubel created for him, and the Duel Disc on his arm was the also the corrupted one. Not believing what they were seeing, Reggie asked, "Johan… Andersen?"

"Yes and no," Johan answered gravely, speaking in both Yubel's voice and his own at once. "The body is Johan, but I have taken up refuge in his body. You master took my Judai away, and now I want him back. But at this moment, I'll settle for the girl." With that Yubel-Johan pointed at Aki, signaling to both David and Reggie that he was serious about taking her.

"What makes you think we'll simply hand her over?" David asked defiantly. "How do you know we can't just take off and leave you in the dust?"

"Because doing so is not possible now," was the darkened answer. Not realizing what was meant by this, Reggie was caught off-guard when Aki suddenly jumped out from behind her, running quickly over to where Johan was.

"Did you think I'd be taken that easily?" Aki asked, bemused. "I saw you coming, and I decided to find a way to Judai, or at least somebody."

"Leaving now will do you no good," Yubel-Johan added, just before Johan's voice completely disappeared and Yubel continued with her own voice. Activating her Duel Disc, she added, "Dueling us, however, just might. If you win, I will go with you quietly; but when I win, I claim something from the both of you."

"Don't think I'm not involved in this Yubel," Aki sharply added, activating her own Duel Disc as David and Reggie stepped off the vehicle. "I want Judai back as much as you do, and I'm willing to work for it as well."

"Very well," David agreed, Reggie tossing him a second Duel Disc as the both loaded their Decks and activated them. "Let us begin."

"DUEL!" everyone then yelled, snapping up 5 cards as they did so.

Johan/Aki: LP 4000

David/Reggie: LP 4000

"I shall take the first turn," Yubel stated, reaching for her card. She then immediately switched to just Johan's voice and added, "Draw!" When the card was pulled, Johan added, "I Special Summon Torch Golem (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)." All of a sudden, a quick flash came off the card and two medium-sized, metal monsters with buzz saw heads, sharp claws and spikes appeared in front of Johan.

Second later, a monster easily three times as big appeared behind David, one that was identical apart from its size. "Torch Golem is Special Summoned by Special Summoning 2 Torch Tokens to my own field (ATK: 0, LV: 1) (ATK: 0, LV: 1)," Johan explained. Then, he reached for a second card and activated it. "Instant Magic: Torch Factory!"

All of a sudden the large monster behind David exploded, making him flinch before a new monster similar to the existing ones, but with brown metal, appeared on both fields. "I may destroy one Special Summoned Torch Golem to activate this card," Yubel explained. "Now, we both draw 2 cards and Special Summon a Torch Factory Token (ATK: 1000, LV: 3) (ATK: 1000, LV: 3)."

When both David and Johan pulled both their cards, Johan took them and an existing card in his hand, and quickly set them all. "I set 3 cards and end my turn."

"It's my turn," David declared. "Draw!"

"Trap Card Open!" Johan declared, snapping his fingers as the card flipped up. "If We Die, We Die Together!" Sneering, Johan quickly inserted his entire hand into his Cemetery and pulled 5 new cards; meanwhile, David showed signs of irritation, and he quickly reached for a card.

"Instant Magic: Trap Booster!" he yelled, holding up the card. "I discard one card, and activate a Trap Card from my hand. I discard The big SATURN and activate Call of the Living Dead!" As soon as he inserted the card and played his new one, David took his whole hand and inserted it into the Cemetery as well, drawing a fresh hand as he did so.

Johan/Aki: LP 3700

David/Reggie: LP 3500

"Next, due to Call of the Living Dead, be reborn: SATURN (ATK: 2800, LV: 8)!" In a massive burst of energy, David's metallic monster appeared on the field, larger than Johan's had been and certainly more powerful-looking. "Next, I shall use SATURN's effect: I discard one card and pay 1000 Life Points, and for this turn SATURN gains 1000 extra attack strength!"

Johan/Aki: LP 3700

David/Reggie: LP 2500

Discarding the card into the Cemetery, David watched as the parts of his monster shifted around as they did to form all the extra weapons that had been used against Yusei. "Now, SATURN (ATK: 3800), attack the Torch Token!"

"No!" Aki realized. "If this attack connects, we're doomed."

"Trap Card!" Johan declared. "Undying Class! I release the two Torch Tokens to Special Summon Torch Golem from my Cemetery (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" The two smaller versions of the metal monster then disappeared, being replaced suddenly by the larger version standing behind Johan.

"Then I'll attack the Factory Token!" David declared, all the weapons on the body of his massive monster firing off in the direction of that monster. Its form exploded on contact, and Johan held his ground despite the massive hit.

Johan/Aki: LP 900

David/Reggie: LP 2500

"Since I cannot defeat your Golem," David deduced, "I change my Token to Defence Position (DEF: 1000). Next, I set 2 cards."

"Trap Card Open: Synchro Gate!" Johan declared, the monster behind him suddenly disappearing.

"Then I end my turn, so SATURN returns to normal (ATK: 2800)," David snapped, very questioning of the move and irritated that he could have attacked for the win had he known.

"It's my turn!" Aki declared. "Draw!" The instant she picked up her card, the light on its form suddenly burst out and created a huge doorway carved in stone, with runic symbols on it. "Due to Synchro Gate, I Special Summon a Synchro Monster whose level is 1 Lower than the released monster. Come, Black Rose Dragon (ATK: 2400, LV: 7)!"

When the doors opened, through them appeared the form of the short dragon with red petal-like scales along its wings and torso, a long black neck and tail with red trim and thorns, several brambles between its short legs, and a train of red petals behind its head. The new creature then roared darkly, looking at both of the two enemies.

"Next, I activate the Magic Card, One for One!" Aki declared, taking a card from her hand and inserting it into the Cemetery slot. "Appear now, Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" Aki then quickly pulled the card from her Deck and held it to the sky, causing said monster to appear just above them.

"Impossible!" Reggie yelled out, looking back at a smiling Aki while her Cemetery glowed and a card slid out.

"There's more," Aki added, holding up the card. "Because Dandelion went to the Cemetery, I Special Summon 1 Fluff Tokens (DEF: 0, LV: 1) (DEF: 0, LV: 1)." With that, on either side of the dragon emerged one of the small dandelion seeds with faces, crouching as Aki made her move. "Now, I'm Tuning my Level 1 Savior Dragon to my Level 7 Black Rose Dragon and my Level 1 Fluff Token!"

Shooting up into the air, the three monsters got far above the city before the small, red dragon grew larger, encompassing her dragon and her Token to change them into eight total white orbs. These then formed a row inside a green ring within the dragon, and then everything turned into light.

"A new sublime force warms the cold fames and sets the great flowers into bloom," Aki chanted, looking up at her monster while everyone else stared on in awe. "Rise up and cast out the darkness of the soul! Synchro Summon! Rise up, Savior Rose Dragon (ATK: 3700, LV: 9)!"

Out of the massive show of light there appeared a tall, thin dragon whose chest was a large rose, whose long torso and tail were fixed between two long, thorny legs. Its wings were composed of similar petals to the other dragon, set onto a thorny branch-like frame; and the back of its head had a large collection of petals like a ponytail.

"Once in one turn," Aki explained, pointing at David's massive monster, "I may negate the effect of an opponent's monster and declare a direct attack on its controller. Sublime Rose Counter!" Without warning a huge group of black rose-like vines shot up from the ground, wrapping David's monster in their form and almost completely obscured it, leaving David looking incredibly fearful.

"David, stop her!" Reggie instructed, her fears being met with a complete lack of reply from her partner.

"Go, Savior Rose Dragon, attack the player directly! Cold Burning Rose!" The massive monster then roared and let out a blast of crimson energy filled with rose petals, striking David square-on and knocking him and Reggie back several feet. There, they collapsed on the ground while the Solid Vision died down.

Johan/Aki: LP 900

David/Reggie: LP 0

However, before either Johan or Aki could approach them, they were surprised to see a beam of black energy come from the top of a building and strike both David and Reggie. It left them as soon as it had appeared; and when they looked up to the source, they saw that it was none other than the masked Paradox.

"Such a shame to see such potentially fruitful lives squandered on a pipe dream with delusions of grandeur," Paradox lamented, the other two looking back to David and Reggie and seeing them simply lying there. Johan then ran over to them and bent down, checking them for any signs of life.

"Their souls have been taken," he revealed, looking back up at Paradox with a complete look of disgust. Paradox then proceeded to jump off the edge of the building and land on his feet at the bottom, fifty feet lower and standing opposite Aki and Johan. "Why did you do this to them?"

"I wanted to see them stop struggling so hard," Paradox explained. "Placido has convinced them that they can make a difference in this world; but they're just like the rest of you bastard humans. They were filth, living destruction upon this land; their lives taken means many more saved.

"Bastard humans?" Johan questioned, Yubel's voice once again joining with his own and then replacing it. "Last I checked, you're a human as well Paradox."

"That is not entirely true anymore, Yubel," Paradox responded, knowing the source of the voice. Leaving it at that, he disappeared into a cloud of black smoke, leaving nothing behind but the shells of David and Reggie.

* * *

Yusei, Jack and Crow stood at Hell Kaiser's bedside while the unconscious man was receiving treatment for his injuries at Neo Domino Hospital. "How could this have happened?" Yusei pondered. "And why him? Why did Paradox target him?"

"I have no way of knowing that, nor do any of us yet," Jack observed. "They say he's going to be fine, but no one truly is until we find out what's really going on and how to stop it."

"Where did Placid find this Paradox guy anyway?" Crow questioned. "I've never seen anything like what's described, and it doesn't make sense that Placido simply came across him like we're being told."

"I don't think it's that simple," Yusei argued, causing Crow to look at him questioningly. "If Paradox were working for Placido, he would have been sent after us long before this point. With the amount of power Paradox seems to have, he'd be the best choice for defeating us."

"Then you're suggesting that Paradox is working on his own, independent of Placido?" Jack inquired.

"I am," Yusei responded. "It's the only thing that makes sense. How they do relate to each other is something I don't know, but I have a feeling we'll find out soon."

"You can find out a lot of things is you comply ask," a voice said from in the hallway, prompting the three people to turn around. There's they saw the form of a man with navy hair in a dark blue body suit and crimson goggles over his face. "Pardon my intrusion, but I know some things which may be of use to you."

"And you are…?" Jack inquired, not being trusting of someone who doesn't introduce themselves.

"I am simply known as Dark Glass," the figure responded. "I have come here because of Yusei Fudo, the winner of the Fortune Cup and defeater of the Dark Signers. You see, I know of the approaching battle, and as such you need to heed my words."

"I'm listening," Yusei responded, allowing Dark Glass to continue.

"The man you know as Paradox is in fact working towards the opposite goal of Placido. Placido actually seeks to create an ideal human society in which everyone is treated as equals; Paradox, on the other hand, seeks destruction."

"And how do you know this?" Crow asked, skeptical of such a statement.

"I simply know," Dark Glass answered. "But I cannot give you any more than that unless Yusei Fudo will duel me."

"You'll give us our answers if I defeat you?" Yusei asked, pulling his Deck from his pocket.

"The answers are yours whether you win or lose," Dark Glass corrected. "I simply want to test your mettle as a fighter."

"Very well."

***

A few minutes later, Yusei's D-Wheel and Dark Glass' long, teardrop-shaped D-Wheel were stationed outside the hospital, both riders on them and waiting to being their fight. Their helmets on, Yusei and Dark Glass both pressed buttons on their consoles and activated the Speed World 2 Field Magic. With that done, both trays folded out into Duel Mode and both players yelled,

"Speed World 2, set on! Riding Duel! Acceleration!" With that they both took off like a shot, blasting past the buildings at lightning pace as Jack and Crow followed on their own vehicles. With Yusei slightly out ahead, both players drew 5 cards.

Yusei: LP 4000

Dark Glass: LP 4000

"It's my turn," Yusei stated, quickly pulling his next card and reaching for one in his hand. "I Summon Defend Warrior (DEF: 1200, LV: 3)!" As he placed the card onto the tray, Yusei called up a dark brown warrior in armour that resembled shields on his forearms, shins and chest. "Next, I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Is that what you call a turn?" Dark Glass inquired smugly. "I expected more!" Yusei then growled at this statement as Dark Glass reached for his Deck with his left hand, then he said, "It's my turn (Yusei: 1 SPC/Dark Glass/1 SPC)!" When he grabbed his card, he instantly slammed it onto the tray and yelled, "I Summon Tech Genus – Cyber Magician SC-01 (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!"

When the blue summon vortex opened, it revealed a squat magician in silvery armour and robes whose body was covered except for its face. "When this card is used to Synchro Summon a Tech Genus Monster, I may Tune it to one Tech Genus Monster from my hand. Thus, I Tune my Level 1 Cyber Magician to the Tech Genus – Warp Phoenix WB-04 in my hand!"

Appearing out of nowhere, Dark Glass' burning bionic bird spread its wings and the magician changed into a single white orb, becoming a green ring that surrounded the bird and moved to its centre. There, the monster changed into 4 white orbs and these fused into a column of light.

"Synchro Summon!" Dark Glass yelled, holding up a Synchro Monster. "Appear now, Tech Genus – Power Gladiator WAX-1000 (ATK: 2300, LV: 5)!" Out of the light then charged a massive green-armoured warrior with a segmented black shield and an axe-liker power weapon. This warrior then roared a battle cry at Yusei, making him look back with an impression of fear.

"Next, I draw one card due to Warp Phoenix's effect," Dark Glass informed, pulling another card from his Deck. "Furthermore, I activate the effect of Tech Genus – Portal Dragon, and Special Summon it because I Synchro Summoned a Tech Genus Monster (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" Dark Glass then brought forth his longer serpent dragon, which twisted its body into a circle and created a glowing vortex.

"Due to this Tuner's effect, I Special Summon Tech Genus – Rush Rhino BW-04 from my hand (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)!" Dark Glass added, the vortex producing a rhino-like humanoid wearing silver armour as the dragon changed into a green ring. "Next, I Tune my Portal Dragon to my Level 4 Rush Rhino!" The rhino monster then charged through the green ring, changing into five white orbs and then disappearing into a column of light.

"Synchro Summon! Appear now, Tech Genus – Powered Phoenix BWX-1000 (ATK: 2100, LV: 5)!" From that light then spread the metal wings of Dark Glass' crane-like monster as it made its cry. "Due to this effect, both my monsters gain 500 ATK (ATK: 2800) (ATK: 2600). Battle!" Rushing forward, the warrior swung its axe-like weapon at Yusei's monster, at which time Yusei declared a counter-move.

"I activate the effect of Defend Warrior," Yusei explained. "In the turn this monster is attacked, its DEF is doubled for Damage Calculation (DEF: 2400)." Despite this increase in power, however, Yusei watched as his monster was sliced through; then, seemingly without warning, his Life Points took a hit and Yusei felt it.

Yusei: LP 3600

Dark Glass: LP 4000

"Power Gladiator inflicts Penetration Damage against an opponent's monster," Dark Glass informed. "However, you did spare yourself some damage with that move, so it wasn't a total waste."

"It still isn't," Yusei revealed, pointing as one of his cards appeared. "Trap Card Open: Code of Warrior! When a Soldier-Type Monster I control is destroyed, I Special Summon one with the same Level from the Deck. "Come, Mail Warrior (DEF: 1200, LV: 3)!" From the blue summon vortex then appeared a monster covered in chain mail with some pieces of plate mail, who took up a crouching position.

"I attack your monster with Powered Phoenix," Dark Glass instructed, causing his other monster to strike the opposing monster; however, the strike jumped off and the monster remained. "What's this?"

"Mail Warrior cannot be destroyed by battle with a monster of Level 4 or more," Yusei stated, "and it's also unaffected by Level 4 or higher monsters."

"Then I set 1 card and end my turn," Dark Glass stated, throwing his card down into the tray.

"Then it's my turn," Yusei stated, pulling his card (Yusei: 2 SPC/Dark Glass: 2 SPC). "I Summon Bri Synchron (ATL: 1500, LV: 4)!" With the monster on the tray, Yusei's monster appeared as the jet-like robot as Yusei said, "Now I tune my Level 4 Bri Synchron to my Level 3 Mail Warrior!"

The newer monster then changed into 4 white orbs that became green rings, surrounding the other monster and changing it into a column of light. "The clustering arms will become a bolt of lightning and crash upon the earth," Yusei chanted. "Become the path its light shines upon. Synchro Summon! Electrify, Lightning Warrior (ATK: 2400, LV: 7)!"

From his column of light Yusei called up a silver-armoured warrior with a red scarf and blonde hair, who made a battle cry as it looked on at Dark Glass. "Due to Bri Synchron's effect, Lightning Warrior gains 600 ATK (ATK: 3000) but its effect is negated this turn. Now, I attack Powered Phoenix with Lightning Warrior!"

"I don't think so Yusei!" Dark Glass defiantly rebuked, his D-Wheel all of a sudden starting to glow. A few seconds later, he accelerated past Yusei and went fast enough to disappear; his monsters ding the same thing. Continuing on, Yusei looked around for several seconds but did not see anything for almost a minute.

Just then though, Yusei felt a huge mass rush past him, and then he looked in time to see Dark Glass reappear, neither of his original monsters by his side. Instead, beside him could be seen a massive green-armoured monster with blade-like wings, a bladed machine gun hand, and a pair of jets with which to proper itself.

"During my opponent's turn," Dark Glass explained, "I may use a Synchro Monster and a Synchro Tuner Monster on my field to perform an Accel Synchro Summon; in this case, the Accel Synchro Monster known as Tech Genus – Blade Gunner MAXX-10000 (ATK: 3300, LV: 10)!"

"That much attack power?" Yusei questioned, looking back with an expression of defiance. "Then I set one card and end my turn. In the End Phase, Bri Synchron's effect disappears (ATK: 2400)."

"Then I draw (Yusei: 3 SPC/Dark Glass: 3 SPC)," Dark Glass declared, also pointing at Yusei's monster. "Now, I attack Lightning Warrior with Blade Gunner!"

"I activate my Trap Card," Yusei responded. "Wave Force! When a Synchro Monster is attacked, I destroy all of my opponent's Attack Position Monsters."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Dark Glass stated smugly, "but my Monster has an interesting effect. By discarding 1 card from my hand, I negate my opponent's card effect which affects this monster and destroy it!" Watching Yusei gasp, Dark Glass slid a card into the Cemetery and moments later Yusei's card shattered. "Battle!"

With that done, Dark Glass' monster shot forward, firing bullets from its gun which the warrior all dodged; however, soon the blade came crashing down and cleaved it in two, making it explode and Yusei swerve from the shockwave.

Yusei: LP 2700

Dark Glass: LP 4000

"I end my turn," Dark Glass said confidently, looking back at Yusei as he pulled a card from his Deck.

"It's my turn!" Yusei declared, pulling a card from his Deck and seeing a potential way out. "I Summon Tricler in Defence Position (DEF: 300, LV: 3)!" As he placed the card on the tray, he called up a small robotic monster whose frame included three very large wheels and a headlight for a face. "Next, I set one card and end my turn."

"I draw!" Dark Glass yelled (Yusei: 4 SPC/Dark Glass: 4 SPC). "I attack Tricler with Blade Gunner!" In a flash, Dark Glass' monster jumped forward and cleaved Yusei's monster in two, causing it to explode before a new monster appeared. This new monster had two bicycle-like wheels, handlebars on its arms, and headlights on its chest.

"When Tricler is destroyed in battle," Yusei explained, "I may Special Summon Bicler from my Deck in Defence Position (DEF: 200, LV: 2)."

"That makes no difference to me," Dark Glass declared. "Trap Card Open: Desperate Battle! If my opponent still controls a monster after Damage Calculation of a turn my monster attacked, I may lower its ATK by 1000 (ATK: 2300) and declare a second attack with said monster!"

This time, the monster swung into battle and quickly exploded the small monster; but this time, a small red robot with just one wheels and a pair of beady eyes appeared and turned blue. "Due to Bicler's effect, I Special Summon Uncycler in Defence Position (DEF: 100, LV: 1)."

"It still doesn't matter," Dark Glass stated. "I have this duel won. I activate the effect of Speed World 2: by removing 4 Speed Counters, I inflict 800 damage to my opponent for every Speed Spell in my hand!" Turning his hand around as all his Counters disappeared, Yusei saw among his cards 3 Speed Spells; but there was one among them that worried him.

Yusei: LP 300

Dark Glass: LP 4000

"But wait, there's more (Yusei: 2 SPC/Dark Glass: 0 SPC)," Dark Glass stated, holding up the card Yusei feared. "I activate Speed Spell – Over Boost, and give myself 4 new Speed Counters (Yusei: 4 SPC/Dark Glass: 4 SPC)!" As soon as he played the card, his engines roared to life and he took off like a shot, leaving Yusei even farther behind him. "Next, I activate Speed World 2's effect again!"

Yusei had absolutely no way to stop Dark Glass from using this next move; in a flash, his console exploded from the effect and it sent him careening into the side of a building, Dark Glass stopping somewhat farther ahead.

Yusei: LP 0

Dark Glass: LP 4000

"That's how a duelist who won the Fortune Cup performs?" Dark Glass questioned, getting off his D-Wheel and walking towards Yusei, who was still sitting in his seat. Moments later Jack and Crow pulled up to a stop behind Yusei, jumping off their vehicles and running up to him. "That was hardly a challenge."

"Your incredibly cheap monsters must have taken him by surprise," Jack said rudely, crossing his arms and showing no agreement with Dark Glass. "Either that, or Yusei had some incredibly bad draws."

"His strategy was all wrong for this," Crow realized, turning to Yusei. "That didn't seem like you at all; it seemed pretty… weak. Were your cards really that bad?"

"His heart wasn't in that duel," Dark Glass realized. "My guess is that whatever has happened recently has got him questioning his worth as a Duellist."

"It was my last duel," Yusei revealed, taking off his helmet. Hearing Jack and Crow gasp in confusion, he then followed up with, "The last time I duelled, it drove a wedge between me and Judai; right before he showed me just how little it means to be respectful in a Duel. Dark Glass," Yusei challenged, "you took us from the bedside of one of our closest friends on a riddle. You wasted our time with him… so I decided to waste yours."

"You threw the duel on purpose?" Jack questioned angrily. "Those sloppy plays… they were just to be rude to Dark Glass."

"Have I not proven my point?" Yusei asked of Jack, hostilely. "We need to act as quickly as we can in the fight against our enemies, and so we don't have time to waste on side trips with no real purpose!"

"This is exactly what I wanted to show you," Dark Glass stated calmly, getting the attention of everyone. "Yusei, you're angry over how events have transpired, causing harm between you and your friends; but you're letting that cloud your judgment. If you want to approach this task properly, you must keep a level head and fight back accordingly."

Yusei's stunned reaction to this question was incredibly marked, and seemed an overreaction to his friends. Seconds later, Yusei asked in a far more calm voice, "Approach it calmly? What have I been doing that's not calm?"

"What are you trying to pull?" Jack asked bitterly, grabbing Yusei by the collar. "You threw a duel to make a point to this guy!"

"I did what?" Yusei then asked in complete stunned-ness, causing jack to drop him back into his seat. "I don't remember throwing any duel; I don't even remember a duel taking place. I went from being outside the hospital to… being here."

"What the hell is going on?" Crow asked bitterly, his question answered seconds later by dark laughter. Looking up to one of the nearby rooftops, they saw the masked form of Paradox standing atop the building; then, seconds later. He was standing on the ground near them.

"You bastard!" Jack yelled. "You interfered with Yusei's duel, didn't you?"

"I forgot how riled you miserable humans become so easily," Paradox stated, his amused tone barely hiding his misanthropy. "You make this far too easy."

"Paradox, what do you want with us?" Dark Glass questioned, only to be met by a dark laugh from under the mask. "Answer me!"

"What I want… is to see this filthy species burn and fester like the plague it is!" Paradox yelled back darkly. "And very soon, I will accomplish that goal…" he added, just before disappearing into a new cloud of smoke.

"I apologize Yusei," Dark Glass suddenly stated, catching Yusei off-guard. "I should have realized somebody was interfering with the duel based on what was happening. We're owed a new duel."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Yusei asked, putting his helmet back on and starting his vehicle up again, taking it out from the wall. In response, Dark Glass walked back over to his own D-Wheel and got back on, and seconds later Jack and Crow did the same.

* * *

"This place… has such a complex history and legacy," Judai realized, reading the symbols that made up the walls and ceiling of the room he was in.

"_Yes, it is indeed a very complex and intriguing culture,"_ a dark voice responded to Judai's statement. Looking around, Judai saw no people in the room; but he felt like he knew the voice from somewhere.

"Who's there?"

"_Come now Judai, I should hope I have not been forgotten after so little time,"_ the voice answered. Seconds later, a black fog formed near the ground and started to produce a tall, black-cloaked figure with eyes glowing out from inside the hood. Reaching up with its hands, the figure pulled down the hood and revealed a face that made Judai gasp in disbelief.

**Card of the Week – Dark Glass**

**Tech Genus – Blade Gunner MAXX-10000**

**Type:** EARTH

Level: 10

**Tribe(s):** [Machine/Accel Synchro/Effect]

**Effect:** 1 Synchro Tuner + 1 Synchro Monster

**CHAPTER: **You can discard 1 card from your hand to negate the activation and effect of a Magic Card, Trap card or Effect Monster whose effect affects this card, and destroy it. During either player's turn, you can remove from that this card until the End Phase. If you do, this card gains 700 ATK when it returns to the field. When this card is destroyed, draw 2 cards. You cannot use them that turn.

**ANIME:** Not Fully Confirmed

**ATK/** 3300

**DEF/** 2200

*With action heating up on all sides, the coming chapters should be very, very intense. Review if you wish.*


	22. Accel Beyond the Boundaries!

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 22 – Accel beyond the Boundaries! Yusei vs. Dark Glass, Accel Synchro Monster**

Back along the main Duel Highway of Neo Domino, Yusei had once again pulled ahead of Dark Glass so they could complete a second Riding Duel, preferably one without any interruptions. With Jack and Crow back in toe to loom out for interlopers, Yusei and Dark Glass once again drew their hands and prepared for battle.

Yusei: LP 4000

Dark Glass: LP 4000

"It's my turn," Yusei routinely informed, pulling his sixth card and immediately slapping it down. "I Summon Shield Wing in Defence Position (DEF: 900, LV: 2)!" With that done, Yusei's green bird-like monster with massive wings appeared and folded its wings up, turning blue as it took its placement. "Then, I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Then it's my turn (Yusei: 1 SPC/Dark Glass: 1 SPC)," Dark Glass responded, pulling his new card and then grabbing one already in his hand. "I Special Summon Tech Genus – Striker WA-02 (ATK: 800, LV: 2)!" When his card hit the tray, he then called up a blue-armoured warrior with some mechanical features and an automatic weapon in hand. "If there are no cards on my field, then I may Special Summon this card from my hand."

"A Special Summon for the first move again?" Yusei pondered. "Your Deck is all about speed; without that, it has no momentum."

"Well-put," Dark Glass responded. "Now, because I Special Summoned a Level 4 or lower Text Genus Monster, I Special Summon Tech Genus – Werewolf BW-03 (ATK: 1200, LV: 3)!" In a separate vortex, there appeared a large, dark-furred wolf-like humanoid with a mechanical arm and a mechanical leg, who more some clothing.

"I Tune my Level 2 Striker and my Level 3 Werewolf!" Dark Glass yelled, his warrior changing into 2 white orbs that became green rings. Leaping forward, the other monster growled as it was changed into a yellow outline that released 3 new white orbs, becoming a column of light. "Synchro Summon! Appear now, Tech Genus – Power Gladiator WAX-1000 (ATK: 2300, LV: 4)!"

Out of the light then emerged his green-armoured monster that bore a power-axe and a shield, a monster which showed its eagerness for battle strongly. "Next, I activate the effect of Tech Genus – Blast Lizard RE-03: by decreasing the Level of my monster by 2 (LV: 3), I may Special Summon this monster from my hand (ATK: 500, LV: 3)!"

Showing the card, Dark Glass called up his bionic reptilian warrior from a new vortex; then, he held up a fourth card. "Furthermore, I Summon Tech Genus – Synchronic Demon FE-04 (ATK: 1500, LV: 4)!" The fourth monster presented itself as a black-skinned, red-eyes monster with metal limbs covered in spikes and with six demon horns on its head.

"If this card is used for a Synchro Summon, it must be for a Tech Genus Monster. However, that's what I run: I tune my Synchronic Demon to my Level 3 Blast Lizard!" With a low guttural growl, the new monster's limbs changed into 4 green rings before the monster itself disappeared; these rings surrounded the reptilian monster, changing it into 3 white orbs and then a beam of white.

"Synchro Summon! Emerge, Tech Genus – Demon Master FEX-1000 (ATK: 2600, LV: 7)!" From that light there then appeared a four-winged demonic monster with massive claws, a visor for a face and black metal over its entire form. "Now, I attack Shield Wing with Power Gladiator!" Jumping forward, the monster swung its axe at Yusei's winged creature, creating some shock to Yusei but leaving his monster intact.

"Up to twice per turn," Yusei now informed, "Shield Wing will not be destroyed in battle. I still take your penetration damage, but I will not lose my monster"

"That may be true," Dark Glass replied, "but due to Demon Master's effect, all Tech Genus Monsters inflict 500 points of damage when they attack!" shocked to hear this, Yusei saw black electricity shoot up from his console, giving him a bit of a shock.

Yusei: LP 2100

Dark Glass: LP 4000

"Now I attack with Demon Master!" Dark Glass informed, his other monster shooting black electricity that skipped past Yusei's monster and struck him, making his D-Wheel jerk a little bit from side to side.

Yusei: LP 1600

Dark Glass: LP 4000

"I set one card and end my turn," Dark Glass informed. "There's nothing left to do Yusei. Unless your hand is better, your time is just about up."

"He's right," Yusei said under his breath. "He can Accel Synchro Summon his Blade Gunner again, and then I'll be out of luck." Reaching for his Deck he then yelled, "It's my turn! Draw (Yusei: 2 SPC/Dark Glass: 2 SPC)!" When he pulled his card, he saw something infinitely better than last time. "I activate the Speed Spell – Angel Baton!"

Pulling the two cards from his Deck, Yusei immediately took one and threw it into his Cemetery; then he took a second card and said, "I Summon Debris Dragon (ATK: 1000, LV: 4)!" With his card into play, Yusei called up his white dragon with some green armour, orange orbs and three horns and yelled, "Next, due to this monster's effect, I Special Summon Bicler from my Cemetery (ATK: 200, LV: 2)!"

When this resolved, Yusei's monster emerged as the small, square yellow and blue monster with handlebar arms, 2 wheels and headlights; then Yusei yelled, "I Tune my Level 4 Debris Dragon to my Level 2 Bicler and Level 2 Shield Wing!" Jumping up into the air, Yusei's dragon monster became four green rings that surrounded his other two monsters, turning tjem into a total of 4 white orbs and fusing them into light.

"The clustering hopes will become a new shining star," Yusei chanted as his light converged into a single sphere, then burst into sparkles. "Become that path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" From that stardust then materialized the physical form of Yusei's Signer Dragon, flapping its wings and flexing its arms while it screeched loudly.

"So you've decided to summon your Ace Monster against me?" Dark Glass observed, clearly amused. "I'm flattered at such a gesture. I simply cannot wait to see its power up close. Especially… against the power of my Accel Synchro Monster!" Revving his engine, Dark Glass once again accelerated to the same massive speed as the last duel, he and his monsters both disappearing.

"Here it comes!" Jack said aloud thirty seconds later, he and Crow both veering to opposite sides as the huge mass of air created rushed past them and changed back into Dark Glass. As Yusei's monitor showed, Dark Glass' Accel Synchro Monster had once again appeared (ATK: 3300, LV: 1), pointing its weapon at Yusei's roaring Dragon.

"If you're interested in seeing Stardust's power," Yusei stated, "then allow me to show you. Trap Card Open: Half Straight! By halving Stardust Dragon's ATK for this turn (ATK: 1250), it may declare a direct attack this turn if my opponent controls only stronger monsters. Go, Shooting Sonic!"

Roaring back its head, Yusei's dragon then shot up to a massive height in the air, firing a blast of white energy right by Dark Glass' monster and striking him dead centre. The impact caused him to duck, as he grunted in what could only be interpreted as pain.

"Next, I activate my Permanent Trap: Synchro Blast!" Yusei declared, his card appearing and facing dark Glass' D-Wheel ahead of him. "Each time my Synchro Monster attacks, my opponent receives 500 points of damage!" With that a beam of energy shot 0off the card, striking Dark Glass' D-Wheel and making him swerve.

Yusei: LP 1600

Dark Glass: LP 2250

"Alright!" Crow yelled, raising his fist. "Yuse managed to strip away almost half that guy's Life Points in one attack."

"Do not become overconfident yet," Jack warned. "There could still be some serious occurrences coming up!"

"Right," Crow acknowledged, getting a hold of himself.

"I set two cards," Yusei said, placing the last of his hand into Magic and Trap Zones. "In my End Phase, Stardust's ATK returns to normal (ATK: 2500). This time Dark Glass, there will be a proper battle worth fighting until the end! It's your turn!"

"Very well," Dark Glass replied, reaching for his Deck. "Draw (Yusei: 3 SPC/Dark Glass: 3 SPC)! Battle! Tech Genus – Blade Gunner MAXX-10000, attack Stardust Dragon!" Rushing forward, the monster raised its gun to Yusei's Dragon and fired shots at it, prompting Yusei to respond by flipping a card.

"Trap Card Open: Power Frame! I prevent Stardust Dragon from being destroyed by this battle!" With the card flipped up, the dragon folded its wings over itself to stop the bullets from damaging it; then, when the monster brought its sword down upon the dragon, there was no effect other than Yusei flinching in pain.

Yusei: LP 800

Dark Glass: LP 2250

"And after the battle," Yusei explained, his dragon unfurling its wings and being surrounded by a web-like metal structure, "the Power Frame equips to Stardust and adds the difference in Attack Strength to the equipped monster; thus, my attack power is on par with Blade Gunner (ATK: 3300)."

"The same high Attack Strength as my Blade Gunner?" Dark Glass questioned, looking at the situation with a surprised expression. "Then I set one card and end my turn!"

"Draw (Yusei: 4 SPC/Dark Glass: 4 SPC)!" Yusei yelled, pulling his card and turning it around instantly. "I Summon Second Booster (ATK: 1000, LV: 3)!" When he placed the card onto the tray, he called up a monster whose body was the form of a black plane with twin jet engines, revving them.

"Next, I activate Booster's effect!" Yusei declared. "By sending Second Booster to the Cemetery, I add 1500 Points to the Attack Strength of Stardust Dragon (ATK: 4800)!" The black metal monster then dissolved into energy and flowed into the Dragon, causing Jet Engines to appear on the dragon's wings and metal armour appearing on its chest and wings.

"So, Stardust Dragon, attack his Blade Gunner! Shooting Sonic!" Jumping up into the air, Yusei's monster fired its blast of energy at the opposing monster; causing it to explode instantly and making Dark Glass cover his face. "And next, the effect of Synchro Blast!" Before Dark Glass could even react, the Trap Card once again shot a beam of energy at him and struck him hard, actually making his path sway.

Yusei: LP 800

Dark Glass: LP 250

"When Blade Gunner is destroyed," Dark Glass informed, "I may draw 2 cards!" AS he reached for the cards in his Deck, he pulled them sharply; but was surprised to see Yusei flip a card as well."

"I activate the Trap Card, Powered Destiny!" Yusei exclaimed. "When my opponent draws cards from an effect, I draw 2 cards of my own." With that Yusei also snapped up two cards from his Deck; then, he jammed them into the slot and declared, "I set 2 card and end my turn. Thus, in my End Phase, Stardust's ATK returns to normal (ATK: 2500)."

"Draw!" Dark Glass yelled as Yusei's monster lost its web-like frame and its metal (Yusei: 5 SPC/Dark Glass: 5 SPC). "I activate the Speed Spell – Angel Baton!" Holding up the card, Dark Glass then pulled two new cards from his Deck before adding, "I now send Tech Genus – Power Booster MA-01 to the Cemetery."

When he had inserted the card into the Cemetery he yelled, "Trap Card Open: Boosting Resurrection! I Special Summon Tech Genus – Striker WA-02 from my Cemetery with one more Level and 100 more ATK and DEF (ATK: 900, LV: 3)!"

With a flash of light, said monster then reappeared and took up its place beside Dark Glass as the man held up another card. "Next, I Special Summon Tech Genus – Power Booster MA-01 (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!"

"That's the card you discarded!" Yusei yelled out in disbelief, Jack and Crow's faces mirroring his own confusion as a monster resembling an engine with cannon-like arms and a scanner for a face appeared.

"When a Tech Genus Monster is Special Summoned from my Cemetery, I may resurrect this monster one time only!" When Dark Glass had called out his monster and having placed it on the tray, he then pointed to his other card.

"Trap Card Open: Undying Class! By releasing 2 monsters, I Special Summon Blade Gunner from my Cemetery (ATK: 3300, LV: 10)!" With a flash both of Dark Glass' monsters disappeared and his larger, green machine monster returned to play with its weapon pointed at Yusei. Said duellist looked back with an expression of terror while Crow and Jack also looked slightly unnerved.

"This is the last turn!" Dark Glass yelled. "I activate the Speed Spell – Half Seize: thus, I halve Stardust's ATK (ATK: 1250) and add the result to my Life Points!" Dark Glass then watched as Yusei's monster was struck by this effect, weakening it while his Life Points grew.

Yusei: LP 800

Dark Glass: LP 1500

"Let's get this show under way!" Dark Glass yelled. "Battle! Go Blade Gunner, strike down Stardust Dragon!" Jumping forward at high speed, the monster once again began to fire off rounds at Yusei's dragon, which once again closed its wings in front of itself,

"Trap Card Open!" Yusei declared. "Super Enriching Supplement Z! Because I'm taking more than 2000 Battle Damage, I recover 4000 Life Points before any damage is dealt!" Watching angrily, Dark Glass saw his monster swing at Yusei's Dragon; but instead of destroying it, it actually caused Yusei's Life Points to climb.

Yusei: LP 2750

Dark Glass: LP 1500

"Next, due to the effect of Power Frame," Yusei reminded, the metal web reappearing around his dragon as it opened its wings, "my monster's points increase to equal yours (ATK: 3300)!"

"You may think you've dodged a bullet, Yusei," Dark Glass threatened, "but you've simply set the stage for your defeat. Instant Magic: Speed Spell – Sonic Ambush!" With that all three people besides Dark Glass looked on in fear as he explained, "With my Speed Counters at 5, I may activate one Trap Card from my hand this turn. I activate the Trap Card, Synchro Halo!"

Looking on in fear, Yusei realized what was going on as Dark Glass explained, "Because my monster failed to destroy yours, I double its power (ATK: 6600) and allow to another strike at your monster! Go, Blade Gunner! Finish this!" Still in position, the monster then swung its blade at Yusei's Dragon again, everyone looking on with a stunned look.

"No!" Crow yelled. "That Trap Card is only good once per turn!"

"That doesn't matter," Jack countered. "If this attack goes through, the Battle Damage will defeat Yusei!"

"Trap Card Open!" Yusei managed to yell out, just before the blade came swinging down upon his dragon, creating an explosion. Smoke then covered the field where this had taken place, and Dark Glass smirked thinking he had won. However, this changed to surprise when he saw Yusei was still riding, his Dragon still there and a new monster by his side.

"I activated Stardust Barrier," Yusei informed. "With this card's effect, I reduced the battle damage by half from Stardust Dragon battling and prevented its destruction; then, I Special Summoned Stardust Xiaolong from my Deck (DEF: 100, LV: 1)." The crouching monster beside Yusei was revealed as a small, serpentine dragon with a face like his larger one, black talons, an orange mane and a fur-tipped tail.

Yusei: LP 1100

Dark Glass: LP 1500

"So, you managed to survive battle this attack by reducing your damage," Dark Glass observed. "This is certainly a good duel, better than I think I've ever experienced; but there's nothing left to be done. I set one card In the End Phase, Tech Genus – Blade Gunner MAXX-10000 is changed to Defence Position and cannot change back next turn (DEF: 2200)."

With this said, Yusei watched as the monster took up a crouching stance beside Dark Glass and heard him say. "I end my turn."

"Then I draw (Yusei: 6 SPC/Dark Glass: 6 SPC)," Yusei yelled out, pulling his card and seeing something that was not a monster.

"Trap Card Open: Threatening Roar!" Dark Glass yelled, flipping a card that produced a shockwave. "You cannot declare an attack this turn."

"Then I set one card and end my turn," Yusei replied, placing his only card in hand onto the tray.

"It's my turn (Yusei: 7 SPC/Dark Glass: 7 SPC)," Dark Glass stated, immediately pointing to his Speed Counters. "I remove 7 Speed Counters from my Speed World 2 and draw one card." When his Speed Counters were gone (Yusei: 7 SPC/Dark Glass: 0 SPC), he pulled his card and looked at it, seeing nothing offensive but plenty of defensive options.

"I set 2 cards and end my turn. This is the deciding turn Yusei! If you cannot defeat me this turn, there will be no future for you!"

"Then I will do my best to defeat you!" Yusei yelled. "I owe you that as a true Duellist!" When he reached for his Deck, he grabbed the card quickly and yelled, "Draw (Yusei: 8 SPC/Dark Glass: 1 SPC)!" Showing the card to Dark Glass, he added. "Speed Spell – Power Draw! When my Speed Counters are at 8, both players draw 3 cards."

As Dark Glass reached for his own Deck to pull his cards, Yusei looked down at his own Deck and put his hand on it. He heard the sound of his own heartbeat start echoing in his head as he closed his eyes, focusing on his Deck.

"_There is only one card in my Deck that can bring me the victory I need; but if I cannot draw it now, there's no hope of victory. I need to draw it... I must draw it... I will draw it!"_ When very soon he saw five visions of the glowing Signer Birthmarks in sync with his heartbeat, then a sixth vision of the combined mark, he snapped his eyes open and drew his cards, holding them to the sky.

"Draw!" he then yelled out, slamming one of the cards onto the tray instantly. "I Summon Salvation Dragon – Saviour Dragon (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" With that done, he called up the small teardrop-shaped red dragon with bladed wings, causing Dark Glass to look on in complete shock and awe.

"That monster…" he said, smiling as he looked at it with reverence.

"If you are going to fight with Accel Synchro Monsters," Yusei declared, "then I shall combine Synchro Monsters as well. I Tune my Level 1 Saviour Dragon to my Level 8 Stardust Dragon and Level 1 Stardust Xiaolong!" All three monsters then rose up into the sky, the red monster becoming gigantic as it consumed the other two, changing them into 9 white orbs.

"The shine of the clustering stars will illuminate a new miracle," Yusei chanted, his monster bursting into light. "Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon!" All of a sudden Yusei was consumed by blue light and found himself in his sparkling rainbow field as he added, "Descend down in light, Saviour Star Dragon (ATK: 3800, LV: 10)!"

With that the light burst out and revealed the warship-sized four-winged glowing dragon, who moved overtop of the duelling field and circled it to keep in place at its supersonic speed. "That's an amazing monster," Dark Glass observed, thinking of his opponent in a whole new light. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Saviour Star Dragon can negate the effect of an opponent's monster once per turn," Yusei revealed, "and during this turn it may activate that effect once. Sublimation Drain!" Looking on in awe, Dark Glass watched as his monster burst out into a white glowing aura, with streams of energy which flowed off of it and into Yusei's Dragon.

"With your monster's effect negated, I activate the Speed Spell – Striker Mode!" Yusei declared, holding up the card within his world while it appeared on Dark Glass' screen. "With this, I may change all opposing monsters to Attack Position, and my monster then gains 500 ATK for each one!" Watching in horror, Dark Glass saw his monster stand up into an offensive position while Yusei's monster grew stronger (ATK: 4300).

"Go, Saviour Star Dragon, attack Tech Genus – Blade Gunner! Shooting Blaster Sonic!" Folding its wings up against its body, Yusei's enormous dragon went into a stoop and straight at the green machine monster, striking it with its nose tip and shattering it while it shot past Dark Glass.

As Dark Glass attempted to regain control, Yusei then yelled out, "Next, due to the effect of Synchro Blast, you suffer 500 Points of Damage! It's over Dark Glass!" Shooting up into the air, Yusei's dragon opened its wings as it assumed a vertical position, firing a beam of energy from the gem on its forehead that struck the man, knocking his D-Wheel into a skid.

Yusei: LP 1100

Dark Glass: LP 0

Seeing what had just happened, Yusei directed his dragon back to the road and straight to its surface, where it dissolved into blue energy and release his D-Wheel, back to Standby Mode. Dark Glass' D-Wheel had by now come to a stop along the side of the highway, and so Yusei, Jack and Crow pulled up beside him, dismounting.

"Are you alright?" Yusei asked, seeing the man's left sleeve to have worn away from the friction. Shaking, he got to his feet and pulled his vehicle up to a vertical position. He then pulled it off to the side, gaining his footing and looking at Yusei with a smile.

"I'll be fine," he answered. "That was the best duel I've had in some time. But I digress; I promised you information on the plans of Placido and Paradox."

"How exactly do you know what they have planned?" Crow asked, seeming very sceptical of the idea that somebody they didn't know aimed to tell them the plans of people they were fighting against.

"I have been observing both of them for some time," the man answered. "Placido's origins remain a mystery to me, but I know that he has existed far longer than either of his cohorts, Lucciano or Jose."

"Jose is an old man," Jack pointed out. "Placido has black hair. How exactly do you intend us to believe that Placido is the eldest of the three?"

"I cannot answer that with any certainty, but I can tell you that I, like Paradox, can see through time to beyond the here and now. Allow me to show you." Pulling out a small device from his pocket, he turned it on to produce a small image of Placido. "I compiled this dossier of Placido based on articles I found in various archives."

Pressing a button on the device, Placido expanded the screen to be about the size of a television screen, perhaps half a meter wide. Pressing a button, he then pulled up an image of a very old newspaper; and American newspaper from the late Nineteenth Century. "What do you see?"

Looking very closely at the picture for the article, Yusei examined all the faces in the article one by one; but there was a face he saw that made him gasp. When the others took note of this, Yusei pointed at the picture of the man and it zoomed in, revealing a man in Nineteenth Century clothes with an eye patch; it was Placido, exactly as he was now.

"What the hell is going on here?" Jack asked, completely taken aback by what he was seeing. "How can he be over one hundred years old and not look a day over thirty?"

"He's more than one hundred years old," Dark Glass responded. "Far Older." Pressing another button, a document came up which everyone recognized as a Medieval Spanish manifesto, the captain being mentioned as Ponce de Leon. Pointing at the third name under his, the entire crew gasped at seeing the name written plain as day: Placido de Niño.

"This… cannot be…" Crow gasped out, completely stunned and almost unable to think based off what he saw. Pressing another button, Dark Glass pulled up a picture of Placido de Niño, and he looked almost exactly like the modern Placido, except that he still had two eyes.

"Ponce de Leon was the Conquistador who searched for the Fountain of Youth," Yusei recalled, knowing full-well the historic accounts. "If this Placido de Niño was in fact a member of his crew, then it stands to reason that he found his prize."

"But what happened to his eye?" Jack questioned, getting a simple sombre headshake from Dark Glass.

"I don't know," he then explained. "There are many theories I have, but none of them can be answered because the fate of the Conquistadors in this incidence is unknown."

"Pegasus J. Crawford was missing his eyes because of the Millennium Eye," Crow reminded everyone. "Perhaps Placido owned that eye before Pegasus did."

"That's not possible," Jack countered. "By Pegasus' own writings in his journal, the Eye was still in its resting place when he received it in Egypt. Besides, the Conquistadors never went to Egypt, so it's unlikely."

"And what's more," Yusei added, "is that no evidence suggests that lives can be lengthened by Millennium Items. However, it has been established that the Stones of the Orichalcos could prolong life for Millennia." Referring to the incident with the Doma Organization as he spoke, he mentioned, "Dartz remained alive for Ten Centuries because of these stones; and they were all over the world."

"That wouldn't explain the loss of his eye though," Crow objected. "Perhaps the life elongation and the loss of eye are from separate incidents."

"I do know that Conquistadors had lost eyes in sword fights," Yusei agreed. "Placido may have had a disagreement with one or more of his crew over whatever they found."

"Well, whatever the case," Jack finished off, "it's rather evident that whatever they found, it truly was a fountain of youth."

* * *

"How are you still in this world?" Judai asked of the cloaked spirit in front of him, who smiled back a dark smile. "You should have been destroyed eight months ago, and sent away to that other world."

"I'm afraid that I'm not one to be killed so easily," the figure countered. "After all, I survived a ritual that would have killed anyone else, all to gain a power which could just as easily have killed me. Why does it not make sense that I survived the power of the Crimson Dragon as well?"

"Because you're not living anymore, Godwin," Judai countered, only to notice that the man's eyes had white scleras again and yet that his hair was the same scarlet. Purple and red marks still covered his face, though they did not glow; and the stone Duel Disc was still on his arm, currently inactive.

"I stopped being living when I awakened Wiraqocha Rasca," Godwin reminded Judai holding up the mentioned card and then tearing it in half. "But because of Yusei's Dragon, I was separated from its grasp in return for sacrificing my body, binding my soul to this altar."

"I know all about Placido and how he influenced you and Rudger to do what you did," Judai said mater-of-factly. "You must be quite angry that he now uses your precious Sky Temple as his home base after what he did to you two for it."

"Nii-san was a very twisted and tortured soul his entire life," Godwin replied, supplementing Judai's statement with background information. "By the end of the Maenou incident and Zero Reverse, he was too far gone to be saved; but he never would have started down that path were it not for Placido," Godwin then said bitterly. "So I suppose you are right; I am angry."

"And you obviously want something from me," Judai deduced. "You would have not appeared to me for any other reason."

"I am sorry to tell you Judai," Godwin replied sincerely, actually looking solemn as he said these words, "that what I want from you is your body." With Judai looking shocked at these words Godwin added, "The only way I can escape and avenge Nii-san and I is to take physical form and defeat Placido; and I cannot do that unless I have a vessel."

"You and I want the same thing!" Judai argued. "Why would I give up my body when I could simply defeat Placido with the Signers, and get you your justice?"

"Because I have a project I left incomplete which I must finish," the spirit answered. "In order to do that, I must return; for only I know of its existence, let alone its purpose and location."

"Are you sure that Paradox does not know of it yet?" Judai asked darkly, getting an angry expression and growl in reply.

"If that is the case," he then explained, "then this world is dead." Out of nowhere, his eyes started to glow a bright red, the light consuming Judai's field of vision and forcing him to cover his eyes. He then felt his spirit fall away from his body; and when he looked around, he saw that he was falling through a red and black vortex.

"_Prepare yourself Yuki Judai," _Godwin's voice echoed,_ "for a Dark Game the likes of which you have ne'er played. A wager will now be made between the very Gods themselves upon this outcome, to decide who must carry out the will of Destiny."_

All of a sudden the entire vortex scene burst into white light, and when it faded away Judai found himself standing in a very different location than before. He was standing opposite Godwin on a stone platform, which resembled a blank stone tablet; and behind each player there were 5 more, smaller, blank tablets.

"As you know from previous experience," Godwin stated to Judai, referencing his Dark Games in his first year at Duel Academia, "this game will be played with far more than simply Life Points on the line. If I emerge the victor, your body becomes mine."

"Why would I accept such a proposal?" Judai asked, his eyes changing to the Golden ones of the Supreme King. "What can you possibly offer me in return?"

"If you emerge the victor," Godwin offered, "apart from keeping your body, I will give you whatever information I can about Placido and the project. That's a huge advantage in your fights, so I doubt you will refuse."

Gaining a confident look, Judai closed his eyes and responded, "How can I refuse the honour to duel a disciple of the Gods?"

"That daring nerve will serve you well in this Dark Game," Godwin stated darkly, "but hubris will not bring you victory." After he said this, a Deck appeared in the Deck Slot of the Stone Duel Disc, making its lines glow red; then, an active Duel Disc appeared on Judai's arm with a Deck in it, and so both players drew 5 cards.

"DUEL!" they both yelled, gaining an offensive stance.

Judai: LP 4000

Godwin: LP 4000

"I shall take the first turn," Godwin stated. "I draw!" When he picked up his card, he put it onto the Duel Disc immediately and said, "I summon Apocatequil (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)." In front of him them appeared the ghost-like form of a wooden idol almost like a priest, complete with white robe and rake-like staff, and then the art for the card then appeared on one of the tablets.

"Next, I shall activate the Magic Card One for One," Godwin added, holding up the card as well as another one in his hand. "By sending the Monster Card Red Ant Azcatl in my hand to the Cemetery, I Special Summon the Level 1 Supay (ATK: 300, LV: 1) from my Deck."

With its art appearing on another tablet, the ghostly form of a wooden mask-like object with black horns and large red eyes took up presence beside the other monster, which then glowed white. "When a Tuner Monster is face-up on the field, the Level of Apocatequil becomes 5. Thus, I Tune my Level 1 Supay to my now Level 5 Apocatequil."

Both the images on the tablets disappeared as the mask-like object became a white orb that changed into a green ring. The wooden idol then jumped up into this ring, changing into 5 white orbs and then forming a column of light. With that the art of a dragon composed of four heads dragon centred around a moon-like object appeared on a tablet.

"When the moon rests in the night sky," Godwin chanted, holding out his arms hands-up to his sides, "the whispers of the Devil can be heard. Entice them over to Death! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Moonlight Dragon Quilla (ATK: 2500, LV: 6)!"

From the light then appeared the incarnation of the tablet art; a massive moon-like object with a glowing rainbow aura and a hewn face, complete with 4 long purple and blue segmented necks and frilled heads, all its eyes fixed on Judai as it growled strongly. "It's become a regular Synchro Monster," Judai observed.

"Indeed she has," Godwin answered, "one which does not destroy herself every End Phase. Next," he stated, moving forward, "I set 2 cards and activate the Permanent Magic, Treasure of Rebirth!" With that two set cards appeared on either side of Godwin and the activated card appeared, all translucent. "When a Monster is Special Summoned from my Cemetery, I may draw one card."

"_And considering the effects of his monsters are centred around Special Summoning from the Cemetery," _Judai observed, looking at Godwin's dark sneer,_ "he'll be drawing very many cards by this duel's end."_

"With my hand empty I end my turn," Godwin declared, looking back at Judai confidently as his Dragon continued to growl. "It is your turn, Judai. I never duelled you myself, but I know of your skill; I look forward to defeating one of your calibre."

"That won't be happening, Godwin," Judai stated. "It's my turn!" When he pulled his card, he folded it against his palm and held up another card from his hand. "I activate the Magic Card, Emergency Call, and add Featherman to my hand!" With that a big glowing "E" appeared from his card as a new card appeared in his hand; then he put his used Magic Card into the Cemetery and grabbed two cards from his hand.

"I Fuse Featherman and Burst Lady!" Judai yelled, holding up all three cards. The spirits of the two monsters then appeared and spiralled together, their fused form appearing with crossed arms as its art also appeared on a tablet (ATK: 2100, LV: 6). "Next, the Field Magic: Skyscraper!" Placing the card onto his Field Zone, the tablet they stood on changed to its art and the building appeared, Godwin and Judai standing between them.

"For its attack on a stronger monster," Judai explained, "my E-HERO monster gains 1000 ATK during Damage Calculation, Go, Flame Wingman, attack Moonlight Dragon Quilla! Flame Shoot!" Jumping up into the air, Judai's monster opened its dragon mouth and shot flames at the dragon; but before they hit, Godwin's form burst into glowing light.

'When Quilla is selected as an Attack Target," Godwin explained to a confused Judai, "half your monster's ATK is added to my Life Points. However, your attack still goes through, and so your Flame Wingman's power will rise to 3100." Seconds later, the flames struck the dragon and consumed it; the beast then roared out angrily and exploded.

"And let's not forget," Judai pointed out, "that when Flame Wingman destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Cemetery, it inflicts damage to my opponent equal to the ATK of the destroyed monster!" Lowering down to Godwin, Judai's monster then bathed him in flames, making him cover his face as he took severe damage.

Judai: LP 4000

Godwin: LP 1950

"_I managed to wipe out more than half his Life Points," _Judai thought confidently._ "Another attack like that, and I'll gave won this Duel. Not a bad start."_

"I bet you think I've come off second-best, don't you Judai?" Godwin asked smugly, actually chuckling a little bit. "On the contrary, you've done me a favour with that aggressive move!"

"I end my turn," Judai stated, pointing at Godwin as the man's tablet lost its image. "Show me that you're not bluffing."

"With pleasure," Godwin replied. "It's my turn! Draw!" When he pulled his card, he pointed at his left set card and flipped it. "I activate the Trap Card, Lost Star Descent! I Special Summon a Synchro Monster from my Cemetery with 0 DEF and 1 less star. Rise again, Moonlight Dragon Quilla (DEF: 0, LV: 5)!"

As he said this, his monster reappeared in front of him, its colour scheme changed entirely to shades of blue as it crouched and its art reappeared on a tablet, albeit rotated 90 degrees clockwise. "Next, I activate the Trap Card: Call of the Death God! When a Monster is Special Summoned from my Cemetery, I Special Summon either Red ant Azcatl or Supay from my Cemetery. I Choose Azcatl (ATK: 700, LV: 3)!"

With its art appearing on a tablet, Godwin called up a large dark red and with brown legs and yellow stripes on its face; then, Godwin picked up two cards and placed them both on the tray. "I activate 2 Permanent Magic Card: Altar of the Sun and Altar of the Moonlight!"

As Judai looked on in awe, two pyramids appeared on either side of Godwin – one was lit up by a golden aura, the other shrouded in darkness by a white aura. "Due to the effect of Altar of the Moonlight, all opposing monsters lose 300 ATK and DEF in the turn a monster is Special Summoned from the Cemetery (ATK: 1800)."

"What?" Judai asked, watching as an aura of blackness consumed his monster and brought down its power.

"Next, I Tune my Level 3 Red Ant Azcatl to my now Level 5 Moonight Dragon Quilla!" Rising up into the air, the ant monster changed into 3 white orbs that became green rings while each face on the dragon became a white orb and the monster itself disappeared. These orbs all floated up to the ring in a pentagon formation; then they formed a column in the rings and changed into light.

"When the sun arises into the sky," Godwin chanted as his tablets once again went blank, "all the darkness is dispelled. Illuminate the Earth, light! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Sun Dragon Inti (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" With that an even larger monster appeared from the light, one that made Judai quake.

This new dragon was similar overall to its predecessor, but with marked differences. Its centre object was an eight-pointed sun with a less malice face, its necks were black, orange and black, and its frills were far more curved and pointed. This new monster then roared at Judai, and Godwin yelled, "Inti, Destroy Flame Wingman! Sunfire Blast!"

Roaring, the dragon formed four fireballs (one in each mouth) and released them in front of the sun idol, where they changed into a blasted stream of fire. These then shot straight at Judai's monster and turned it to ash; then they struck Judai, who screamed out in agony as he fell to his knees.

Judai: LP 2800

Godwin: LP 1950

When the flames died down, Judai noticed a sensation of numbness on his right shin. Looking back at it, he was surprised to see that everything between his ankle and knee had disappeared, dark purple smoke trailing off the stumps. Forcing himself to his feet, Judai realized exactly what was going to happen to him should his Life Points hit 0.

"I set one card and end my turn," Godwin said, smirking and looking back at Judai's now empty tablet. "Unless you can defend, you've got no hope."

"I have hope!" Judai yelled. "Draw!" He then instantly turned his card around and yelled, "I activate Angel's Gift!" Pulling three cards from his Deck, Judai too one of them as well as a card already in his hand, and threw them into the Cemetery before holding up another card. "I use Fusion Recovery to return Fusion and Burst Lady to my hand!"

When he got the card back, Judai took the two cards left in his hand and held them up with the Magic Card, yelling, I Fuse Edgeman and Wildman!" With that the native-looking and gold warriors appeared and spiralled together, calling forth a monster much like the former but with the latter's armour on its chest, one of its arms and one of its legs.

"Meet Wild Jaggyman (ATK: 2600, LV: 8)!" Judai yelled, his monster's art appearing on the tablet directly behind him. "And now, I attack Sun Dragon Inti, so I gain 1000 ATLK (ATK: 3600)!" Battle!" Jumping up into the air, Judai's monster pulled out a serrated sword and stuck the blade into the sun idol; this caused a golden light to emanate from the object, creating an explosion that consumed both monsters and then bathed Judai in gold flames.

"When Sun Dragon Inti is destroyed by battle," Godwin explained to the screaming Judai as the flames died out, "it destroys the monster that destroyed it, and causes damage equal to half its ATK. That means, half of Wild Jaggyman's 2600 ATK after Damage Calculation, or 1300 Points, will not be dealt to you as damage."

Looking back in anger, Judai felt his other leg disappear in a similar way to his previous one, his and Godwin's tablets going black.

Judai: LP 1500

Godwin: LP 1650

"You were winning last turn," Godwin pointed out, "and now you are losing. Very soon, Judai," he added, smiling darkly, "your body will be mine!" Judai scowled at this, watching as Godwin burst out into dark laughter.

**Card of the Week – Godwin**

**Moonlight Dragon Quilla**

**Type:** DARK

**Level:** 6

**Tribes:** [Dragon/Synchro/Effect]

**Effect:** "Supay" + 1 or more non-Tuner Monsters

When this card is selected as an attack target, recover Life Points equal to half the ATK of the monster that is attacking this card. If this card is destroyed, you may Special Summon 1 "Sun Dragon Inti" from your Cemetery.

**ATK/** 2500

**DEF/** 2000

*Placido a Conquistador? What? Review if you wish.*


	23. LimitSurpassing Dark Duel

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 23 – ****Limit****-****Surpassing****Dark**** Duel, Judai vs. Godwin**

Standing opposite Godwin in the Dark Duel, with his legs devoured by the darkness and almost nothing left to stand against Godwin, Judai grabbed the last remaining card in his hand and slapped it onto the tray. "I Summon Elemental Hero Burst Lady in Defence Position (DEF: 800, LV: 3)." With that a blue version of his red-clad female warrior appeared before him as its art appeared on a tablet, rotated 90 degrees clockwise.

"Then it is my turn," Godwin deduced because of Judai's lack of a hand. "I Draw!" As he drew his card, a rumbling was kicked up as Godwin's blue dragon suddenly reappeared as though rising up from the earth, its form reappearing on a tablet (ATK: 2500, LV: 6)!"

"What monster again?" Judai questioned, looking on with complete disbelief. Seconds later, however, he remembered the effects of the two Dragons and how they resurrected each other in a loop. Sneering, Godwin then drew another card from his Treasure of Rebirth as he looked on at Judai, confident apparently of victory.

"Due to Altar of the Sun," Godwin pointed out, indicating the glowing altar to his right, "all Monsters I control Special Summoned from the Cemetery receive an additional 300 ATK (ATK: 2800). Furthermore, due to Altar of the Moonlight, your Burst Lady loses 300 ATK and DEF (DEF: 300). Battle! Moonlight Prism!"

Roaring, all four heads of the dragon produced glowing rainbow energy and then channelled them together before the moon idol at its centre. This then fired the energy as a concentrated blast, destroying Judai's monster in a brilliant flash of light.

"I shall set one card and end my turn," Godwin then concluded, planning a card in his only remaining Magic and Trap Zone. "Come Judai, show me that you can fight; or simply lay down and admit defeat."

"I won't admit defeat!" Judai yelled defiantly. "Draw!" Flipping around his card right away, he yelled out, "I activate the Magic Card Natural Resource! By sending a Field Magic to the Cemetery, I Draw 2 cards! I discard Skyscraper!" With that the buildings around them vanished and the base tablet went blank; then Judai pulled two new cards and revealed them.

"I Summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman (DEF: 1200, LV: 4)!" he declared, his blue warrior appearing in a crouching position. "Due to this monster's effect, I draw 2 cards!" When he had pulled his latest two cards, he took all three and jammed them into slots.

"I set 2 cards and I activate the Permanent Magic, Mirage of Nightmare!" With that two reversed cards appeared before Judai, along with a face-up one which had Godwin looking on in discontent.

"If that is your move, then I will continue with mine," Godwin issued, reaching for his Deck and pulling a card from his Deck. He then watched while Judai pulled a fresh hand due to his Permanent Magic, but he did not head it with his next move. "Battle! Go Quilla, destroy Bubbleman! Moonlight Prism!"

Once again the dragon monster collected four orbs of rainbow energy from its four mouths in front of its moon structure, firing them as a blast straight at Judai's monster. When it exploded seconds later, Godwin snapped his fingers and yelled, "Trap Card Open! Destruction Potion!"

"What is that card?" Judai asked, not having seen it previously.

"I destroy one monster I control and recover its Life Points onto my own," Godwin informed, a red aura starting to consume his dragon. Seconds later, it roared out and exploded, the red aura consuming Godwin and increasing his power. "And next, the effect of Quilla will resurrect Sun Dragon Inti (ATK: 3300, LV: 8)!"

Drawing his card and then holding his arms to the sides as he laughed darkly, Godwin watched as the trembling began again and his massive red and orange dragon monster rose up from the ground again, roaring loudly at Judai as it did so. "Battle! Sun Dragon Inti, direct attack the player! Sunfire Blast!"

Roaring loudly, the monster collected the fire energy from its mouths in front of its sun idol, forging them into a single orb and then shooting them straight at Judai. Watching this, Judai snapped his fingers and indicating one of his set cards. "Instant Magic: emergency Rations! I send my set card and my Mirage of Nightmare to the Cemetery, and I recover 2000 Life Points!"

Watching Godwin snarl darkly at his failure to snatch victory, Judai inserted both the cards in his Magic & Trap Card Zone into his Cemetery slot while his Life Points were increased by his effect. Seconds later, however, the flames struck him square on and flung him straight back into the tablet behind him, screaming out from the flames until they died out entirely.

Judai: LP 200

Godwin: LP 4450

"You may have survived this turn Judai," Godwin said angrily at the man, who simply slumped to the floor while his upper arms and his abdomen simply disappeared into purple smoke. "But your time is still almost up! I set one card and end my turn!"

"D…draw…" Judai stuttered, shakily getting to his feet as he looked at his card. "I… Summon… Card Gunner (DEF: 400, LV: 3)." Placing the card onto the tray, he called up his small robotic monster with cannon-like arms and treads. "I… activate its effect…" Grabbing three cards from his Deck, he placed them into the Cemetery and they slid in one by one: revealed as E-HERO Neos, Cross Porter, and Skyscraper 2 – Hero City.

"Due to… the effect of Cross Porter," Judai informed, reaching for the card to prove his point, "I add Neo-Spacian Ground Mole… to my hand!" All of a sudden said card appeared in his hand, so he moved it there and inserted his other monster back into the Cemetery. "I set…one card…"

"In your End Phase," Godwin yelled, "I activate the Trap Card, Destruction Potion!" Gasping as Godwin played a second of the deadly Trap Card, Judai saw Godwin's massive monster erupt into red energy and explode, just as his last monster did, and then as his Life Points soared to massive levels.

Judai: LP 200

Godwin: LP 7750

"It's my turn," Godwin pointed out, pulling his card just in time to watch as his blue monster rose up from the ground again, roaring at Judai just as before Godwin picked up a second card. "Battle! Destroy Card Gunner!" Roaring, the dragon once again formed an orb of energy from its mouths in front of its idol, firing a stream of it at Judai's monster and exploding it.

"When Card Gunner… is destroyed," Judai declared shakily, reaching for his Deck, "I draw one card!" As he pulled his card, Judai saw something that was sure to help him out.

"That matters not," Godwin stated. "I set one card and end my turn." _"He's lost his footing completely now. His energy is all but gone. And should he attack, I can use either of my set cards to instantly do away with whatever force he calls. Temper of Vai-Mahse to negate and destroy his attacker, or Eclipsed Blast to destroy his monster outright and inflict lethal damage to him."_

"Draw!" Judai yelled, snapping up yet another card while he reached for two cards already in his hand. "Magic Activate: Convert Contact! With no monsters on my field, I send the Ground Mole in my hand and the Flare Scarab in my Deck to the Cemetery, and draw 2 cards!" With that Judai placed the one from his hand into the Cemetery, where the one from his Deck suddenly appeared and they both slid away while he drew.

"I activate my own Permanent Magic: Hero's Guild!" Judai informed, producing the card on his left. "Once per turn, I activate this effect by sending cards from both player's Decks to the Cemetery until a Monster Card is found. If said monster is a Soldier-Type, the player may return it to their hand." Reaching for his Deck, Judai pulled up a single card and spun it around, revealing Friendog. "It's a Machine-Type," he explained, throwing it away.

Reaching for his own Deck, Godwin drew a single card before he saw a monster; however, he turned it around unhappily and said, "It's Priest of the Sun, but it's a Magic User and not a Soldier." Thus, Godwin slid the card into his Cemetery, watching angrily as a monster he would have wanted disappeared.

"Next," Judai informed, "I activate the Magic Card, Miracle Contact!" Holding the card up, three cards from his Cemetery slid out and he held them up to explain to Godwin, "I return these three monsters – Neos, Ground Mole and Flare Scarab – to the Deck, and perform a Triple Contact Fusion!"

Godwin then watched as their surroundings changed into a black space with a white nebule just above them. Judai's three monsters – his white warrior, his mole-like monster and his humanoid insect – appeared around him and jumped up into the sky, meeting at the nebula and changing into light.

"Come forth: Magma Neos (ATK: 3000, LV: 9)!" Judai yelled as the original field returned, and from the light descended his large green-brown warrior with molten fist, clawed hand and massive armour. "Next, the Field Magic Card: Neo Space!" Revealing the card, Judai activated it and surrounded both players with the field of neon rainbow energy, making Godwin look on with an expression of surprise.

"Due to the effect of Neo Space," Judai informed, "Magna Neos receives 400 extra ATK. Furthermore its power is increased by 400 points for every card on the field. Currently, that number is 10; so even with your 300-point reduction in power due to Altar of the Moonlight, my monster still has very high attack strength (ATK: 7200)."

"Unbelievable," Godwin grunted out, seeing how bad the situation looked for him.

"Next, the Magic Card Arms Hole!" Judai declared, pulling a card from his Deck and placing it into the Cemetery. "I skip my Normal Summons this turn, and add 1 Equip Magi Card to my hand; I choose Assault Armour!" And just as he said this the card appeared in his hand, so he turned it around and played it.

"I equip Assault Armour to my Magma Neos, so he gains 300 ATK, as well as 400 more for a new card being in play (ATK: 7900)." Once the card was in play, a golden flaming aura formed around the giant warrior as Judai decaled, "Go, Magma Neos! Super Heat Meteor!" Raising its hand to the air, Judai's monster formed a burning molten rock many feet above its head and swung its arm, shooting said object Godwin's monster.

"An impressive attack," Godwin chastised, "but your move has been a major blunder, one which will cost you the game! Trap Card Open: Eclipse Burst!" With a gasp on Judai's face Godwin explained, "I destroy the Moon Dragon and your monster, then hit your Life Points for its Attack Strength!" All of a sudden the large dragon before Godwin began to glow as energy was released; but before it came to anything, Judai responded.

"Trap Card Open!" Judai declared. "Stealth Hero! With an E-HERO in play, I negate my opponent's Trap Card and destroy it!" With that Godwin's Trap Card exploded into shards, leaving him defenceless. "My monster thus loses 800 ATK (ATK: 7100), but my attack continues!"

"Even so," Godwin reminded, "due to Quilla's effect, half your monster's attack strength is added to my Life Points! A bluish aura then formed around Godwin right before the huge meteor smacked right into the moon idol, exploding it and creating a shockwave that actually made Godwin slide back a few feet.

Judai: LP 200

Godwin: LP 7000

"When Quilla is destroyed, Inti returns!" drawing an additional card, Godwin watched as his massive red, orange and black dragon rose up from the ground again, roaring loudly while Judai looked on with an uncaring stare. "Now I have a monster on the field once again (ATK: 3300, LV: 8), so you cannot touch me!"

"Oh really?" Judai questioned, grabbing his Equip Magic from the tray and holding it up. "When Assault Spirits is on my field, I can send it to the Cemetery to give the attacking monster a second attack! I lose some power (ATK: 6400), but that's still plenty for my purposes. Battle! Super Heat Meteor!"

"What are you doing?" Godwin asked, watching as Judai's monster shed its aura before raising its hand again, firing off another burning meteor at his monster. "I'll simply destroy you and wipe out your Life Points!" Seconds later, the meteor crashed into the sun idol of Godwin's monster; but before it exploded, the four heads fired out flames from its mouths straight at the other monster.

"Instant Magic: Contact Out!" Judai declared, holding up a card quickly. "I release the Contact Fusion of Magma Neos!" Seconds later, the form of the monster changed into light and split apart, causing the flames to shoot right on by while Judai's white warrior (ATK: 3000, LV: 7), mole creature (ATK: 900, LV: 3) and the insectoid monster (ATK: 500, LV: 3) while Godwin's monster exploded.

Judai: LP 200

Godwin: LP 3900

"Due to Flare Scarab's effect," Judai informed, "it gains 400 ATK for every Magic and Trap Card on the opposing field (ATK: 2100). Thus, my monsters have a combined sum of 6000 ATK!"

"Due to the effect of Altar of Moonlight, however," Godwin countered, "they all lose 300 ATK (ATK: 2700) (ATK: 600) (ATK: 1800)."

"But even in that case, they still have enough Attack Points to destroy you. Go, Neos! Wrath of Neos!" Responding, Judai's warrior jumping straight up into the air, bringing its hand into a karate-chop formation before bringing it straight down towards Godwin; but before he made it there, a monster similar to a priest carrying a moon-like staff and in black robes appeared and took the brunt of the assault.

"What was that?" Judai questioned, watching as Godwin started to laugh darkly.

"When Priest of the Moon is in my hand," Godwin explained, crossing his arms while the card appeared in front of him, "during the turn the Sun Dragon or Moonlight Dragon is destroyed, I can discard it to make all Battle Damage from direct attacks 0. In other words, your one-turn-kill is thwarted' but I applaud your effort."

"In the Main Phase 2," Judai said, holding up his last card, "I activate Legacy of Hero! I have no other cards in my hand and 2 E-HERO Fusion Monsters in my hand, so I draw 3 cards!" When he pulled his cards, he immediately slapped all three onto the rear of the tray before saying, "Now, I Contact Fuse again!"

In a flash of light, all three of Judai's monsters disappeared and were replaced by the larger warrior from seconds earlier. "Magma Neos (ATK: 7600, LV: 9), rise up! Now, Godwin, it's your turn!"

"Then I draw!" Godwin yelled, pulling yet another card from his Deck while he watched his bluish dragon rise up again, pulling a second card when he did. "Return, Quilla (ATK: 2800, LV: 6)! And with another monster in play to raise your attack strength (ATK: 8000), the stage is set!"

"What?" Judai asked, right before Godwin spun around yet another card from his hand.

"I Play the Permanent Magic, Eclipse Barrier! With this in play, any Battle Damage from my monsters attacking becomes 0! Thus, even when I attack, I'll suffer no ill effects!"

"_Oh no," _Judai realized, growling._ "If he attacks, he'll revive Inti, and when it's destroyed I lose the duel!"_

"Battle! Go Quilla, attack his monster!"

"I don't think so!" Judai yelled, flipping up a card. "Permanent Trap: Forceful Stop! I send a card on the field to the Cemetery and end the Battle Phase. My choice… is Neo Space!"

"What are you planning?" Godwin asked as the glowing field around them suddenly dissolved away, causing his monster to stop its attack before it even began. "Then I guess I end my turn, so in the End Phase your Neos returns to the Extra Deck!"

"Maybe it does," Judai said, sneering, "But when he does, every card on the field returns to its owner's hand!" With Godwin gasping, Judai's monster burst into light while all the cards on the field, starting with Judai's and finishing with Godwin's roaring Dragon, just before Judai's monster also disappeared.

"This… can't be…!" Godwin growled, seeing that his hand now contained his entire combo; except for his Dragon, now back in his Extra Deck. "But that's a risky move, Judai! If you don't draw a monster, then this is all over!"

"Then I guess I'd better draw a monster!" Judai yelled, snapping up a card from his Deck. "Draw!" Looking at his card for a few second, he slimed before holding it up to Godwin and saying, "My card is… Neos!"

"That's a Level 7 Monster with no effect," Godwin reminded. "You need to Release 2 monsters to Summon it… unless…" he suddenly gasped, remembering Judai had discarded a card from his Deck earlier.

"That's right," Judai replied smugly, the image of the red-skinned, bone-armoured ghost warrior appearing. "The card I sent to the Cemetery with Arms Hole was… Necro Darkman! Due to its effect, I Normal Summon Neos without Release (ATK: 2500, LV: 7)!" With that Judai placed his signature white warrior onto the field, letting out a battle cry as he did so.

"Equip Magic: Neos Force!" Judai yelled, holding up a card that produced a similar orange aura around his monster to the previous turn. "Now, Neos gains 800 ATK (ATK: 3300). But wait; there's more! Magic Actuate: Evolution Two!"

"No!" Godwin yelled out, realizing what Judai had planned.

"With this effect, I double the power of an Equip Magic already in play and add it to the same monster. Thus, I double the power of Neos Force! Go, Neos (ATK: 4100), destroy Godwin's Life Points! Wrath of Neos!" With that Judai's warrior again jumped up into the air, then down upon Godwin with full force and making his entire deck spill onto the ground.

Judai: LP 200

Godwin: LP 0

"You owe me some information," Judai pointed out, all of the cards around him disappearing as his body quickly regenerated itself. "You said if I won you would tell me what you knew of Paradox and Placido."

"And I am a man of my word," Godwin agreed, bowing his head. "The project I was working on involved the Old Momentum Reactor, after Zero Reverse had taken place. I knew that several of the souls whose bodies were destroyed in Zero Reverse still remained within its confines."

"Yusei's father is within that place?" Judai asked, completely stunned. "Does Yusei know about this?"

"I never told him, but perhaps he has discovered it on his own," Godwin admitted. "But it does not matter; my experiments into releasing the souls all failed. I learned quickly that souls lost in that event weren't simply disembodied; they were sealed."

"Then what exactly where you doing with them?"

"Souls have infinite value in terms of alchemic experiments," Godwin disjointedly answered. "For performing an experiment, they can meet any energy requirement if they are used."

"Then you intended to sacrifice them!" Judai deduced angrily, almost spitting as he said this. "How could you have so much disrespect for the people you worked alongside?"

"I could never do that to them," Godwin replied. "They meant too much to me; but Paradox has no such qualms. I suspect he has already used the Momentum's power more than once for whatever purpose he has."

"Then… why is he going around stealing cards from people?" Judai asked, getting a very solemn and grim expression on Godwin's face as a reply.

"There are two possibilities," the spirit then clarified. "Either he's using them as a conduit to use the power of the Duellists' souls, or… tell me, do many of the cards have a Spirit Presence?"

"I believe so," Judai responded, knowing the answer would not be any good.

"Then he is likely using them as fuel in addition to human souls."

"What?" With that surprise out of the way he then asked, "and how does Placido relate to all this?"

"Placido has no intention to use the Old Momentum," Godwin answered. "If anything, he would likely want to release all those souls and destroy the Momentum. Everything he does is for what he considers the good of humanity and society."

"He's an idealist?"

"He is, but he's horribly misguided. He believes that the Signers stand in the way of perfect society because Destiny commands them to oppose those who interfere with humanity."

"He's against the Signers because they think differently than he does and they oppose him," Judai paraphrased. "Basically, he's Hitler."

"Except that he won't be imploring Genocide," Godwin responded. "More like exorcism. He wants to use the power of Infinity to brainwash those who try to create chaos, and then use him as his elite force. Yliaster was a means to and end for him when I was alive; now it still is."

"He only put you into power so that wouldn't be obvious," Judai deduced. "How long had you known?"

"Ever since he told my Brother Rudger that his Destiny was to destroy," Godwin answered. "It didn't make sense to me that he was telling a Signer that his destiny was to destroy; until that is, I learned the truth. He wanted both sides to destroy each other, so the cycle of destiny would be broken."

"Then he approved of you attempting to break that cycle with what you did?"

"He did more than just approve; he was the one who told me the time had come to put an end to the Chaos. However, because the Signers won, Placido now has to defeat both sides himself. I'm terribly sorry for what I've done, Judai," Godwin lamented as he apologized. "I make no excuses for my misguided actions; all I wish is to make right what I have done."

"I will find a way for you to do that," Judai promised, holding up his fist in a fighting way. "Together, the Signers and I will make this right and help you repair what went wrong; but if you're trying to manipulate me, then so help me God…"

"I am not lying," Godwin swore, crossing his right arm over his chest and bowing. Seconds later, Godwin's form dissolved into a stream of energy and flowed over to Judai, encompassing him before leeching into his body. He could feel as Godwin delved deep into his soul until he reached Judai's spiritual core, where he finally settled before his image appeared in the back of Judai's mind.

"Then we shall fight!" Judai said strongly, just before his entire form burst out into light. When he looked again, he found himself back in the cell within the Sky Temple, albeit with renewed vigour and spirit. "Mark my words, Godwin: we shall fix what has been made wrong!"

* * *

Back at the Poppo Time Area, the group consisting of Johan (with Yubel), the Summoners and now Aki converged with that of Yusei, Jack and Crow in front of the doors, all knowing what needed to be done.

"We can't simply cower and play defensively anymore," Yusei said sternly. "Judai is a captive of Placido, Jose and Lucciano, and all that is left to do is find him and recover him so we can defeat them."

"We know by now that Paradox has the ability to interfere with human thought," Aki stated, chipping in on the conversation with something useful. "He made Kiryu turn on us, he made Yusei throw a duel, and I'm willing to bet he made Judai commit that outburst."

"And we also know that Paradox and Placido are fighting on different sides," Yusuriha established. "Paradox wants to destroy all humans, Placido just wants us gone. This makes Paradox the bigger threat; after all, Placido can probably be reasoned with."

"Finally, we know that Placido is the eldest of the trio," Jack chimed in. "He's a Conquistador." When Johan's group looked on at him with complete shock (except for Kyojo, who was now sporting a pair of crimson Kamina glasses), he added, "It's true. Anyway, we know he has pride and chivalry, which will make him easier to reason with."

"If we want to do this right," Kyojo interjected, arms crossed, "we need to get the twins. We need Luca so her Saviour Dragon can fight, and her brother will help not only with battle but morale."

"We'll split up into two groups," Johan stated, Yubel's voice joining his own. "The Signers will start a primary barrage to act as a decoy while the Summoners and us will go to Judai and release him. That way, we can come back and combine attacks for one offensive that will guarantee us victory."

"We need you to reclaim the Demons as quickly as possible," Crow instructed to Yubel, "since you're the only one who can control them, let alone put them on a fucking leash."

"Then there's nothing left to discuss," Kiryu stated, suddenly walking in on the conversation. "Let's go get the children and we'll strike now. Not wasting any time means the Infinity has less time to prepare, which gives us more advantage."

"Then it's settled," Yusei concluded. "Let's go!" With that everyone nodded, and raised their fists in a battle cry.

* * *

In the Dominion of Beasts, Taiyou and Endymion stood together at the front of a massive procession of Magicians. Standing directly behind them were the spirits of the Endymion Monsters – Paladin, Swordsman, and Crusader – and behind them a huge number of other Magicians who had agreed to take up arms.

These all stood atop a hill well over a kilometre away from the City, just overlooking a massive valley. On the opposite side, Norsewemko stood sneering at the Magicians under Endymion with her own collection of troops – these being various members of the Magicians' Bureaucracy and its many foot soldiers, including the mighty Arcanite Magician.

"Today, a new era of this world shall emerge," Endymion declared, his staff sporting a large red flag.

"The two Governments shall now clash," Norsewemko countered, her staff supporting a blue flag.

"One shall stand…"

"…One shall fall."

"Charge!" Both leaders yelled, out of the blue, causing the many magicians among their ranks to begin filing down the hill in a mad dash towards each other. When they met, a Breaker among Endymion's ranks jumped into the air with his sword back, only for his blade to be stopped by the massive shield of a Magical Knight – Defender.

"You bureaucrats betray the very nature of our society!" Breaker threatened, bringing himself back to the ground and stabbing with his sword in a rapid and violent motion.

"And your empire stymies the free will of the people!" Defender roared back, moving his shield just as quickly into a blocking position that made Breaker's sword snap in two, the blade flying away. Half a second later, however, a pained cringe suddenly came over the face of Defender, right before his armour split vertically and his body dissolved into yellow particles of light from within it.

Standing right behind the armour, which then fell to the ground, a Dark Red Enchanter stood in an offensive stance, holding his staff low with the end embedded in the ground. "What good is the will of an indecisive and cynical people?" he asked, yanking up his staff. "An empire without democracy never has to worry about indecisive politicians or dissonance."

Just then, the Enchanter was caught off-guard when he was the white trench coat and blue pants of Cybernetic Magician fly past him, the staff of this magician striking Breaker directly in the chest before he could block with his shield. Just as his brother had, he disintegrated out of his armour, which fell to the ground right before Dark Red engaged Cybernetic, their staffs meeting.

A few metres away, the white-cloaked form of Arcanite Magician was rushed by the Magic Hierophant of Black, bringing his staff crashing down upon Arcanite's chest. Unfortunately, the cloak simply tore to reveal armour underneath, and then the white-haired magician jumped up into the air.

"Bury thyselves in the putrid earth, oppressors!" Arcanite yelled, jumping up into the air to an incredible height of thirty metres over the fighters. Second later, the cloak of the magician came flying off to reveal the red and blue armour of Arcanite's other form, right before it released a huge blast straight at the enemy ranks.

A huge explosion then ensued in the middle of the hill, causing many bodies to go flying in all directions, some of which dissolved in mid-air. Before Arcanite could even fall, though, the Hierophant jumped up equally as high and swung his massive staff into the other magician's head, sending its neck flying in a snapped arc before the body dissolved out from the armour.

Meanwhile, back up on the bank of the hill, Taiyou produced a green staff and prepared to charge with it, only to be rushed by the Chaos Command Magician, yet another of the defected magicians. He took a very fast swing at Taiyou, which he was just barely able to block before an explosion occurred between the two staffs.

"Half-breeds like you are responsible for the deplorable state of out union!" the magician accused, swinging his staff in large arcs while Taiyou jumped to dodge them. "Until you came here everything was ideal and peaceful. You poisoned us!"

"That's complete bullshit and you know it!" Taiyou yelled back, jamming the blade into his staff into the magician's chest and blasting him with it, sending the magician flying backwards. "My involvement in the so-called government has been almost non-existent; it's your bureaucracy that created this tension!"

"If you will not respect your elders and do as you are told," the magician then threatened, rushing Taiyou and getting up in his face, "then let's see if you do as God tells you!" The magician then thrust his staff in a way that split Taiyou's in two, exploding the ground under his feet and causing him to fly into a near-by tree, slumping to the ground.

With this strike, Taiyou knew that he was not pure enough magician nor well-armoured enough to fight; however, he knew that he had to do something. Crossing his arms over his chest, he closed his eyes and burst out into a white sparkling aura, which rose in a flaming pattern many metres above his head.

"Don't dare half-breed!" the green-armoured form of the magician yelled, jumping up and trying to come crashing down upon Taiyou mid-technique. "You will die her and now!" His rant was interrupted, however, when the form of the Black Magician of Chaos jumped up from behind him and blasted a red and black orb into his back, exploding him.

"Make your move now Taiyou!" the magician then commanded before spinning around mid-air to meet the oncoming staff of Cosmo Queen, a fellow Bureaucrat to Norsewemko who harboured a similar grudge to Endymion.

"Take flight: Stardust Dragon!" Taiyou yelled, uncrossing his arms and opening his eyes as the aura jumped off him. When it got high enough into the air, a screech emanated from the swirling matter and it transformed into a Dragon similar to Yusei's, though it more red runic lines running down its neck and wings.

"A human fighting for rebel Magicians who uses a Dragon!" Cosmo Queen chided, slashing through the staff of her foe and destroying him. "What nonsense!" Her view of the matter was quickly changed, however, when the dragon reared back and shot a blast straight at her, making her explode violently in midair right before the dragon again screeched.

"Did Endymion never teach you manners?" Norsewemko mused to Taiyou. "It's rude to involve Dragons, especially sacred ones, in civil battles. But I suppose rebellious humans like you don't regard the rules if they're inconvenient to you."

"Say what you will Bureaucratic Bitch; this Dragon and I are one in the same," Taiyou countered, "and together it and I will defeat you!" With another powerful roar, Taiyou's dragon fired yet another blast of energy at Norsewemko; while she jumped out of the way, several of her soldiers were vapourized.

"You think I fear idle attacks?" Norsewemko goaded, aiming her staff at Taiyou while it built up energy. "Powerful as your ka over there may be, it is far from invincible!" The female magician then fired a blast of energy right at Taiyou, causing the dragon to jump into its path and cross its wings, absorbing the attack without taking any damage.

"Ready to give my Dragon some respect!" In retaliation, the dragon opened its wings and shot straight at the female magician, using its right arm to take a massive swing at her and slashing her staff to bits. On the other side of her, it swung its tail and whipped her in the back, sending her flying to the ground.

"Excellent work Taiyou," Endymion complemented from below, his massive bladed staff swinging straight through the form of an enemy magician. He then issued under his breath, "I'm sorry, my friend, but there was no other way."

"Such heroic nonsense," Norsewemko said under her breath, suddenly producing a large beige blade with multiple rib-like projections as she stood up, aiming her new weapon at the dragon in question. "Endymion, do you care to see your half-breed underling's soul shredded along with his ka?"

Noting the weapon in her hand, both Taiyou and Endymion became wary of the weapon, which they recognized all-too-well; the Sword of Dragon's soul, a weapon fabled for its ability to destroy Dragons. "Perish, along with your God-forsaken empire!" Norsewemko yelled, jumping up into the air straight at the white dragon with the blade ready. All the dragon could do was scream back and swing its limbs; but it had no way to stop the lethal sword.

Out of nowhere, however, the form of the Paladin of Endymion appeared from behind the dragon, swinging its massive blade straight at Norsewemko. Though she easily dodged it and swung him away with her power, when she turned back she was shocked to see her new combater: Black Paladin, the Magician who fought alongside dragons.

"Your idle spells mean nothing here," he challenged, jumping down from the dragon's forehead and forming a blast of energy on his keel-like halberd. "Be gone, your ill-gotten weapon!" With that he shot the blast of energy off his staff, striking the sword and exploding it before the blade cam swinging down upon Norsewemko herself.

To everyone's surprise, however, she simply swished to the side out of the path of the blade. Producing a second of her staff from her robes, she prepared to swing it straight at the Paladin; but he simply spun around, blocking the weapon with his own blade and easily forcing her back.

When she tried to dive down upon him again, she was stopped by a blast of white energy from the white dragon still above her, creating a barrier between Norsewemko and the Black Paladin. To her surprise, however, the energy changed paths and was quickly absorbed onto the blade of the halberd, creating a glowing white Stardust aura.

"Perish, along with your accursed bureaucracy," the Paladin said stoically, only to dash up towards her in a split second, swinging his halberd straight at the female magician and into her staff. The end result was an explosion, the most massive of the day; and so the Paladin continued upwards until he came to rest on the dragon's head once again.

Back on the ground, Taiyou now stood his Duel Disc active, having used it to call forth the Paladin in addition to his Stardust. "What's the problem Norsewemko?" he issued up smugly to the female magician as she emerged from the smoke, her staff once again in ruins. "I thought you were supposed to be better than a lowly half-breed underling of Endymion!"

"You shut your mouth to me you insolent little vermin," Norsewemko threatened through gritted teeth, "or I'll…"

"Or you'll what?" He asked, snapping his fingers and prompting his dragon to shoot yet another blast at her. When she dodged that, his Paladin threw in an energy stream from his own staff, causing her to move once again. This time, the Paladin of Endymion jumped back up in front of her, having waited for his chance to strike, and swung his blade in a way that sent her plummeting to the ground.

"This is the bureaucracy's dying day!" Taiyou issued over the crowd of magicians, his Dragon and Paladin coming to rest behind him with a loud roar from the former and a threatening gesture the latter.

* * *

"And so it has come to this," Placido observed disappointedly of the Magicians through his view. "I had expected them to resolve this within civil constrains, as they normally do."

"They have been driven to the brink of desperation," Jose reminded him. "Without the ability to use democracy, they've got no choice but to fight."

"There's developments!" Lucciano yelled out, suddenly running into the room. "The Signers approach!"

"Do they now?" Placido questioned, pulling 3 cards from the top of his Deck and looking at them, The Infinity Symbols on their back glowing, the Three Demons let off a black aura within Placido's hand, which quickly spread to his own body. In seconds his white robes were dyed dark grey, with purple armour-like pieces on the chest, forearms and shoulders.

Seconds later, the aura disappeared with a forceful thud, leaving only the Infinity symbol glowing in the shadowy manner. With a dark sneer, Placido said, "Well then, I guess we'll simply have to show them the truth of that old adage; mortals rush in where angels fear to tread."

* * *

Within the chamber of the Old Momentum, Paradox stood watching the conflict between Magicians in the Dominion of Beasts and the Signers preparing for war against the Infinity. Through his glowing mask he saw such chaos, such agony, such hatred; and he ravished in every ounce of it.

Turning to the control panel of his device, he looked up a specific even in history which he had a vested interest in: Battle City V2. Roughly a year after the KC Grand Championship, this had been the first Tournament in which the focus of his Strategy had been his Egyptian God Cards.

"_Giant God Soldier of the Obelisk, Sky Dragon of Osiris, Winged God Dragon of Ra,"_ Paradox recounted to himself, watching as the images of the cards appeared one-by-one in the screen. _"Pegasus convinced everyone that these cards were destroyed... but I know that Muto Yugi still has them, a reminder of the partnership he once held with Pharaoh Atem."_

When he thought about the cards and how they had been used, a guttural growling began to resound in the back of his mind, causing the man to sneer darkly underneath his mask. Taking it off, he looked upon the cards with his glowing eyes before he pulled a new black card out of his Pocket.

"_Once I collect enough energy, my ultimate monster can arise and this world can be made right again,"_ he realized, his right eye opening wider than the left and the iris and pupil becoming smaller. _"All I need do is collect the power of those monsters... which means, a duel with the Original Kings of Games is in order..."_

**Card of the Week – Judai**

**Assault Armour**

**Equip Magic**

**Effect:**

CHAPTER: This card can only be equipped to a Soldier-Type Monster that is the only monster you control. That monster's ATK is increased by 300 Points. When the equipped monster destroys an opponent's monster in battle, activate by sending this face-up card to the Cemetery. The monster it was equipped to can attack one more time this Battle Phase.

OCG: This card can only be equipped to a Soldier-Type Monster that is the only monster you control. That monster's ATK is increased by 300 Points. During your Main Phase, activate by sending this face-up card to the Cemetery. The monster it was equipped to can attack twice this turn.

*A great battle is approaching. Review if you wish.*


	24. Showdown of the Chosen Cards

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 24 – ****Showdown of the Chosen Cards! Phantom Demons vs. Five Dragons **

In front of Godwin's old Mansion, an area of ground which had been disturbed by the Sky Temple's return months earlier suddenly began to shift again, bulging up into a mound. Seconds later, a purple-grey smoke began to erupt from the structure, becoming copious and eventually covering the grounds.

Seconds later, a shaking of the earth began which quickly gained violent, earthquake-like magnitude, but it was limited to the area of the billowing fog. Out of nowhere, the pointed top of the Sky Temple pushed up through the ground, disturbing the earth and being enveloped by the dark fog.

After less than a minute the stone structure stood above the ground again, jutting out of the soil; and the smoke which had covered it dissipated except for that of the building's base. Standing atop the monument's platform, Placido in his darkened robes stood staring out over the water towards Satellite, Jose and Lucciano standing behind him.

Reaching into his pocket, Placido pulled out a Deck and tossed it to Jose, who caught it quickly before looking at the contents. His one visible eye opened into a surprised pose as Placido explained, "you do not yet have your Machine Emperor, and I have the Demons. You should use Wisel in this battle; that way, he can win before all three Emperors have descended."

"But what about the other Machine Emperor?" Lucciano asked, clearly in disagreement with that plan. "If it descends soon, then we may be neglecting the strongest of the three."

"And besides," Jose added, "If the other monster descends, then its power will be going to waste."

"The Signers are discarded with their partners, and their greatest warrior is our captive," Placido argued. "They will easily be defeated without the help of the other monsters; but only if WE can agree long enough to fight properly."

"I understand your point, but you must keep in mind that the power of the Saviours is greater than that of the Machine Emperors. If they manage to summon them, we will have a greater fight on our hands than we had anticipated; and we cannot afford to lose at such a critical time."

"Ten we must not lose," Placido countered, his voice and his expression sounding much more annoyed and causing Jose to look back with an expression of surprise.

Turning back out to face that approaching streets leading to the area, the Trio then waited until they had some sort of visual cue that the Signers were approaching. Despite the absence of any sort of indication, they continued to stare on in anticipation, a dark smile on Placido's face and a solemn expression on the face of each of his cohorts.

Meanwhile, standing in the underground chamber, Judai looked through the contents of his Deck, knowing that when the Signers arrived threw would be a conflict. Godwin's spirit could not help him at this point in time; but as it was, that mattered not because Godwin had buried himself where Judai could not hear him.

"_I know my last experience with Yusei, Jack and the others was less than stellar," _he thought to himself, completely entranced, _"but I will not think twice about fighting alongside them. This madness needs to have a stop put to it, and the sooner the better."_

In the underground cavern that held the Old Momentum, Paradox continued to work away with the programming of the device so he could complete his plan. Out of nowhere, while he was working, a ghostly form of his face extended off from it and caused a yellow aura to form around him, making him buckle and grip his head in pain.

While he tried to steady himself from this blow, he once again heard the deep growl of the monster in the back of his head; and then out of nowhere, he found himself surrounded by the purple starry space of Sin World, standing opposite his own refection with hair flying in all directions, veins on his face and wide bloodshot eyes with constricted irises and pupils.

Before he could even make sense of what was going on, the vision disappeared and Paradox found himself exactly where he had been; nothing seemed different. Then, he noticed that a light had appeared on the console of the reactor, lighting up the control panel for an alert. He then pressed a button located on the far low corner, causing the image of a card to appear on the screen.

Looking carefully at the card, he saw that said card was a Magic Card – a Field, in fact; with a name written in English, and yet there was almost no text left on the object. Reading the name, then looking at the picture, his eyes went wide when he realized that he recognized the card – its art featured an object he had seen in one of his many voyages through time; but he couldn't remember where.

However, thinking about it caused the delusion to once again appear, this time with the card floating in between Paradox and his doppelganger. "You know as well as I do that we need to acquire that card," The hallucination said to him, his voice sounding much like Paradox's; except it was deeper, more malice, and it held a tone of demonic malice which the real Paradox did not have.

"This project has gotten completely out of hand," Paradox argued back at the figure, his own voice starting to sound rather like it was trembling. "This was just supposed to be for the good of this world; it was never supposed to involve going this far!" With that the real Paradox raised his fist in anger to the phantasm staring at him, causing said entity to simply start laughing at him. "What's so funny?!"

"The only way to save this world," the delusion argued back in hostility, "is to rid it of all humanity. It was humans who caused the virus to destroy our people, our family, and our future. And no matter what we've done, it's always come out the same; a ruined, crumbling world. If we do not continue this path, everything will die off."

"If we destroy this world's people, who will be around to actually enjoy this world?!" Paradox asked accusingly. Without any sort or reply, the doppelganger grew angry and snapped his fingers, causing a yellow aura to consume Paradox and make him scream out in pain. The figure then simply dissolved into yellow particles of light, and as Paradox fell onto his hands and knees in pain the whole vision started to dissolve away.

"_There is no other way to save this world,"_ the dark voice continued to say inside his mind as Paradox himself fell unconscious. _"The plague upon this Earth will never be removed until all traces of human life have been erased... including us..."_ Seconds later, Paradox woke up and got to his feet, donning a malicious facial expression and looking back to the card on the screen with a look of want.

"That card shall be mine…" he then said, taking in the deep and dark voice of the doppelganger. "And then, this human world shall fall…"

In the Dominion of Beasts, Taiyou and his two monsters, Stardust Dragon and Black Paladin, stood at the top of the huge hill overlooking the huge battle; Norsewemko, standing on the opposite side, simply looked back with an expression of contempt.

"There's no more room for mercy in this battle," Taiyou issued; immediately following that, his dragon roared and shot up into the air, his magician jumping off its head and swinging his arm back. Holding up a Magic Card from his Deck he then added, "I arm my Paladin with the power of Diffusion Wave-Motion!"

When his arm shot forward again, Taiyou's monster created an orb of energy on the blade of its staff the created massive black energy waves, shooting down towards the Bureaucracy's Magicians and slashing through at least twenty of them. The unfortunate monsters then split in two and shattered from within their outfits, dissolving into light.

"Stardust Dragon, your turn!" Taiyou then added strongly, causing his dragon to rear back and fire another blast of its white energy straight at the enemy monsters. Two magicians and their armour were caught in the blast and turned to dust in a split second, while at least a dozen other magicians were sent flying and their weapons destroyed.

"An impressive set of parlour tricks," Norsewemko added, "but if you think you're one only one with an Ace up your sleeve, you're dead-wrong half-breed!" As she finished these words the dragon blasted another shot of energy straight at her, only for Norsewemko to disappear instantly. Watching in horror, the Paladin was confronted when Norsewemko appeared directly in front of him, swinging her staff and cleaving him in half with her blade.

Unlike the actual magicians, the Paladin, a summoned creature, dissolved into smoke while Taiyou fell on his knees, clutching his chest with pain at the sensation of having his ka destroyed. In a couple of seconds he managed to stand back up; and in retaliation, the dragon reared back and shot a blast of energy straight at Norsewemko, forcing her to block with he staff.

"When will you learn half-breed?" she asked darkly, pointing her staff at Taiyou and causing a blast of energy to suddenly go shooting right at him. Reaching for his Deck, he pulled a card and showed her Holy Barrier – Mirror Force, forming a barrier around him that shattered upon impact with the blast. However, immediately after that, the shards changed into energy and went shooting right back up at Norsewemko, who jumped back from the dragon and repelled the shots with her staff.

"All talk and no action," Norsewemko deduced with a sinister smile, snapping her fingers and causing the white-armoured, green-skinned form of Explosive Magician to rise up right behind Taiyou. Turning around just in time, Taiyou jumped to his left and got out of the path of a sudden explosion; and then Endymion, who had just been battling, came forward and sliced the magician in half.

"I'll not have Taiyou harmed," the magician yelled up to his rival as he turned around, pointing his staff at the woman. "I'll sooner have my blood spilled upon the earth."

"That can be arranged," the woman magician said slyly, pointing her staff back at him. In a quick instant a huge number of knives began to appear right in front of her, all of which went shooting straight at Taiyou and Endymion at massive speeds. The two magicians managed to dodge most of the knives, but one of them cut right into Endymion's right shoulder and embedded there.

"Such sultry actions will not go unpunished!" Endymion yelled, pointing his staff at the woman and firing a dark purple burst of energy at her. Though she dodged it, his Swordsman and his Paladin both appeared behind her and crossed their weapons over her back, creating a blast of magical energy that exploded and sent her flying forwards.

"Finish her off!" Taiyou yelled, causing his dragon to fire yet another, much larger blast of energy at Norsewemko, getting her caught in the fire and creating an explosion where she had been. When the energy reduced to stardust and no sign of Norsewemko was seen, the expression of all four magicians and the dragon suddenly grew less intense.

Seconds later, however, their folly was interrupted by a huge burst of magical energy behind Endymion's 2 warriors. The two of them were then exploded, shattered into particles of light; and in their place appeared Norsewemko, without so much as a scratch upon her body. Staring back at them with a wicked smile, she pointed her staff at the white dragon and said sternly, "perish like the filthy human dog that you are."

A huge blast of golden energy then shot straight at the dragon, who folded its wings over itself to absorb the blast. But when it opened its wings, Norsewemko teleported to right in front of the dragon and slashed the tines of her staff across its chest, cutting into one of the purple orbs and causing Taiyou great pain. She then proceeded to jump back and fire a blast straight down, disintegrating both Endymion's Crusader and the Skilled Black Magician.

"How can she have so much power?" Endymion pondered under his breath. Though he had known Norsewemko was powerful, she should not have been able to survive such a ruthless attack unharmed, let alone be able to cause so much damage to his men in such a short time.

"I had a little bit of help," Norsewemko responded, somehow hearing him. With that a single card appeared in her hand and she held it up for Taiyou to see, explaining, "Since the half-breed insists on fighting with the power of Duel Monsters, I decided to show him the true power of cards. And this card, Taiyou, is one you no doubt remember."

"Is that… Divine Evolution?" Taiyou asked in astonishment, all the pieces of the puzzle suddenly fitting into place. A golden aura then formed over Norsewemko as some of the black pieces of her armour were changed to gold, reflecting that her power had grown.

"Indeed it is… and now it shall be your end!" Jumping forward, Norsewemko swung her staff back and then slashed into the white dragon, cleaving it in half from tip to tip and causing the massive monster to scream while it exploded before her. Taiyou, having lost such a power creature, gripped his heart briefly before his knees gave out and he fell on all fours, then to the ground face-down.

"Why you!" Endymion yelled up, jumping into the air along with the Dark Red Enchanter and Magic Hierophant of Black. Crossing all of their staffs in mid-air, the three magicians fired a combined blast of power at Norsewemko; but by raising her palm to them, she simply deflected the blast and dispersed its power.

"Nice try," Norsewemko taunted. "But now, it's my turn!" With that she fired three blasts of energy, one at each magician and each one just barely being stopped by the magician trio. Seconds later, Norsewemko dove down upon them and cleaved the Enchanter and Hierophant each in two, Endymion managing to sidestep the assault but still having to watch his comrades destroyed.

"You're weak," Norsewemko chastised, bringing her staff back up and swinging it at Endymion, who blocked with his own staff. "You may have been a great Emperor all these centuries, but now old age has claimed all but the last of your power."

"I still have enough fight left in me to deal with the likes of you," Endymion shot back, swinging his staff back and then straight into Norsewemko's shoulder. In a split second a small explosion destroyed all the material on her left shoulder and part of the material on her chest and arm; but then her response was to shove her staff into Endymion's chest and blast him with energy.

As he was falling to the ground, the soldiers for both sides stepped aside while Endymion crashed face-down, Norsewemko floating down to the ground behind him. Shaking, Endymion managed to get himself to his feet and turn to face his attacker, who stood cross-armed with her staff ready in hand.

Off in the distance, approaching the location, Placido's vision (enhanced by the power of the Demons) allowed him to make out the approaching forms of several figures on vehicles. Smiling darkly, he pointed to silently convey his message while the vehicles got closer and closer.

On the back of his own D-Wheel out in front, Yusei could see on Godwin's old property that the Sky Temple had again risen from the ground and was surrounded by the dark smoke. He could sense the Demons atop the structure, and in addition he could see the glowing outline of energy that could only mean Placido was waiting for them.

All of a sudden, the figure atop the structure raised an arm as though holding up a card or cards to the sky; and without warning, a huge explosion caused a blue energy column to rise up from the ground. With it the form of Ravel began to take shape, eyes glowing red and form illuminated by the power around it.

When it had arisen from the ground completely, the monster swung its right arm backwards and then shot its claws straight at the group. Yusei, Jack, Kyojo, Crow, Johan and Kiryu (all the D-Wheelers) all managed to jump or swerve in some way around the claws before they impacted and dug into the ground; and then all six D-Wheels pulled to a stop at the base of the Sky Temple, the entire group jumping off and looking up to face Placido.

"I see you have all made it to my base of operations," Placido observed, "but I doubt that will do you any good. Between the power of my machine Emperors and my Demons, there is very little you can do."

"We'll see about that," Yusei challenged right before he, Jack, Crow, Aki and Luca all held up their respective Signer Dragon cards. Their Birthmarks lighting up, each one of them called forth their respective Signer Dragon and the five took up vertical formation, each one aiming its jaws at Placido. "Battle!" With that the dragons formed their respective attacks – white energy, crimson flames, golden flames, black flames and purple flames – and shot them straight at Placido in a single spiralling assault.

"It's too easy," Placido criticized just before a huge wall of ice burst up from the ground in front of the Sky Temple. When that ice shattered, it produced the crouching form of the gigantic dull yellow dragon skeleton, Hamon, who covered Placido with its scoop-like hands and folded wings, deflecting the attack completely.

"Now behold, a true attack!" Placido yelled, holding up a third card that caused a huge column of flames to erupt from behind the structure. These flames then spiralled around the temple and twisted into the form of a winged serpent before revealing themselves as the final beast, Uria, who screeched a demonic roar down upon the trio before firing a blast of flames down upon them.

However, before the flames could reach their target, the form of Yubel suddenly appeared in their path, folding her wings over herself and taking the brunt of the assault without receiving so much as a soot smudge. Growling, Placido watched as Yubel unfurled herself and saw Johan with his normal eyes standing below, holding up her card.

"We won't be taken down that easily!" he yelled up to Placido, prompting the five dragons to shoot higher into the air and fire their blasts of energy down at him, hoping the angle would mean Hamon would be unable to deflect the assault. Unfortunately, the forms of Machine Emperors Wisel and Skiel suddenly appeared, the Infinity Symbols on their chests absorbing the power blasts and causing yet another stalemate.

With it their turn to growl in anger, the Signers saw that Jose and Lucciano had emerged from the shadows of the doorway, their Duel Discs active and the combinations for the two Machine Emperors on the trays. "So sorry to interrupt your assault on our cohort," Lucciano said mockingly, "but it was a valiant effort."

"Sadly for you," Jose added stoically from under his mouth plate, "a valiant effort is no good to anyone unless it can be followed up on. And now, we will shot you that fact!" Opening their Infinity Symbols, both Machine Emperors fired strands of energy straight at the Signer Dragons; but these were intercepted by Yubel and another, larger demon hidden in shadows.

"Who are you?" Jose then asked in anger of the second demon right before the beams of energy bounced off of it, leaving the two monsters two no new powers. The demon then created a golden glow around himself, revealing the tall, muscled, blade-winged form of Maenou. Now recognizing him, the Infinity Trio were incredibly surprised to see the infamous Demon free of its prison; though they had watched the Dominion of Beasts, they did not know of this deal he had made.

"I am the being who will help give you three your Divine punishment," the low voice of Maenou responded, pointing one of his claws fingers at the three of them. "I shall help defeat you so I can redeem myself for the Pharaoh; and I will stop at nothing to achieve that goal."

"But that's simply not true," Placid countered. "Death will stop you!" Pointing his hand at Maenou, Placido telepathically prompted Ravel to attack Maenou specifically. The demon was then caught off guard as the massive monster attacked him from his left side, swinging its massive claws straight at Maenou. He then raised his left hand to stop the Phantom Demon, then both hands; but he was ambushed when the red serpent Uria also fired flames at him, searing him and allowing Ravel to swing at him again and knock him to the ground.

"You've grown powerless," Lucciano chastised of Maenou as the demon tried to get back to his feet, eventually succeeding and then levitating again. "Without the strength of the Fifth Dragon and the Phantom Demons, you barely have the strength to fight." With that Hamon launched a bolt of golden lightning into the sky; it then came back down from the clouds upon him, causing an explosion in midair.

"Leave him alone!" Kiryu yelled out, raising his own two cards to the sky and calling forth his two ace Synchro Monsters, One-Hundred Eye Dragon and Infernity Death Dragon. "If you wish to attack my comrade, then you fight me as well!" Roaring, both of Kiryu's dragons formed orbs of energy in their mouths and shot them at the Machine Emperors, once again causing the Infinity Symbols to absorb the blasts.

"Now!" Yusei yelled, prompting his and Crow's Dragons to both launch their own energy blasts at the two Machine Emperors; when these shots failed, Jack and Aki's Dragons kicked in for their own shots, striking them dead-centre and causing them to explode this time.

"What's going on?" Lucciano questioned as both she and Jose staggered from the pain of having lost their summoned monsters. "How did they managed to destroy our monsters?"

"The power of their monsters and their bonds, when put together, is one of the strongest forces there is; more powerful than our idle Machine Emperors have without an additional power source."

"Even so," Placido said to them smugly, snapping his fingers, "I still have the power of the Demons!" Kiryu then had no time to react before Ravel's caws came swinging straight into the body of his Death Dragon, causing Kiryu himself to grab his heart and buckle. There was no time for the others to react either before Hamon shot lightning into the sky again, raining down upon the other dragon and then upon Kiryu himself.

"Kiryu!" Yusei yelled out in concern, the man falling onto one knee and bracing his heart while he felt the intense pain. Though the man held steadfast, he looked up in angry terror as Uria shot a burst of flames straight at him; before they struck, however, the yellow mechanical form of Power Tool Dragon appeared in their path and absorbed their power, standing its ground and not being destroyed.

Everyone then turned their attention to Lua, who had called out his monster in order to protect Kiryu; this caused anger amongst the Infinity Trio and amazement by the group, who were clearly proud of Lua's courageous act. Regaining his senses, Kyojo turned himself to face Yusuriha and Johan, and he yelled, "what are we waiting for? We've got work to do!"

Realizing that he was right, Yubel withdrew into the body of Johan, causing his eyes to turn orange again as he, Kyojo and Yusuriha started running towards the base of the pyramid-like altar. When they got close Uria again fired a burst of flames down upon them, but instead of them taking the brunt of this Maenou moved into their path, forming a shield with his wings and keeping them from being harmed.

"Thank you, Maenou," Johan and Yubel said up to him right before Kyojo and Yusuriha summoned forth XX-Saber Gatmuz and Trident Dragion to blast a hole in the structure. Noticing their actions, the two dragonic Demons in front of and surrounding the temple blasted their flames and lightning down upon these two monsters; however, the two monsters managed to dodge these blasts, and the large dragon thus blasted three large fireballs at the wall.

"Now, Yusuriha!" Kyojo instructed to his cohort. Nodding, she snapped her fingers and her monster swung its sword into the superheated rock, causing it to crumble to the ground. In retaliation the gigantic blue demon Ravel swung its large claws down upon the monsters, who again dodged the strike and even launched a pair of energy blasts up at Placido.

"Your nonsense will not faze me!" Placido roared back, Hamon moving its arms to absorb the blast. "Now behold, your demise!" Pulling his sword and pointing it to the sky, Placido sneered as his three demons all were encompassed by black fog which also contained their own colours; then, this smoke shot up into the air in steams and began to fuse into a black orb over the top of the Sky Temple.

When all of the smoke amassed together, it exploded down and outwards into the form of a black foggy column, encompassing the temple completely and blinding everyone below. From within the fog they could hear demonic growling and the constriction of a large body around stone; and then the fog dissipated violently, revealing the twisted form of Armityle with its serpentine lower body spiralled around the Sky Temple from base to apex.

"Die in the shadows of ruin!" Placido yelled at the Signers with a malicious grin, just before his massive monster opened its second mouth and began to spew copious amounts of black fog from its jaws drifting down and settling low at a massive speed, the five Signer Dragons managed to rise high enough to escape the fog; but Trident Dragon, Power Tool Dragon and Gatmuz were not so lucky, and they were caught in the dark matter.

Kyojo, Lua and Yusuriha then began to feel pain within their chests as the bodies of their monsters began to crack and chip, small pieces falling off second by second. Eventually all three monsters simply exploded into yellow particles of light; and from the shock of the assault, the two Summoners collapsed on their knees and Lua simply fell unconscious. Taking the chance, Johan ducked inside the building without being seen, knowing that his part still had to be done.

"Lua!" Luca yelled to her brother, running quickly to his side and bending down to pick him up, checking him for signs of life. When she determined him to be alive, she sat him back down gently and stared up at Placido, giving him a death glare as the black fog dissipated. "You animal! How can you do this to people?!" she then spat accusingly, getting a dark chuckle and a darker glare in reply.

"Sometimes sacrifices need to be made in the name of success," was his reply, causing everyone (including his own two cohorts) to look at him with a horrified gasp and glare. "This world needs to be made proper for everyone; and if that cannot be done with you Signers in my way, then you all must perish."

"Perish my fucking ass!" Crow yelled, raising his fist in anger and causing his Blackfeather Dragon to so shooting straight at Armityle, forming the black flames on the leading edges of both wings and firing them at Armityle. Though they struck the demon on the top of the head, they had no effect but simply dissolved on contact; seconds later, the demon retaliated by shooting a ball of black fog at the Dragon, destroying it instantly.

Crow then collapsed on his right knee in pain, gripping at his chest with his right hand while giving Placido the finger with his left hand. The simple reply of the demon-controlling Infinity Member was to point his sword at Crow, shooting a green bolt of lightning at Crow that sent him flying straight back into his own D-Wheel. Everybody turned and watched as he collapsed and slumped to the ground, out cold.

"Crow!" Jack yelled out angrily, shaking in rage as he turned back to Placido. "You bastard! How dare you do that to my friend?!"

"Your friend needs to learn to show more respect for his new Lord and Master," Placido replied darkly. "Unless you're willing to show some respect for me, then I have no desire to spare you either." Pointing his sword back up at Armityle, he yelled out, "Land-Wide Destruction: Metamorphosis Wave!" Rearing its head back, the creature began to form a huge orb of black and purple swirling energy in its arms.

"Get back!' Yusei yelled in warning, giving Stardust Dragon and Red daemon's Dragon the cue they needed to dive out of the way. Half a second later the orb burst forth into a stream of energy; and while Black Rose Dragon managed to climb out of its way, Ancient Fairy Dragon was simply not quick enough and was struck by the energy. Like her brother, Luca then slumped to the ground and fell on her face, creating great concern for everyone involved.

"Such weakness in the face of true power," Placid criticized with a sneer upon his face. Standing behind him, however, Lucciano and Jose showed a total look of disgust at Placido's actions; though they wanted victory as much as he did, they were appalled at his use of such torturous methods. Seconds later, a dark grey aura of smoke began to form and pulsate around Placido, giving him the look of someone who had been possessed.

"You think you're so high and mighty, don't you Placido?" Kyojo snapped up harshly, he and Yusuriha getting to their feet and staring up at him. Pulling his sunglasses off he then added, "Well, prepare to come crashing down!" With that both he and Yusuriha held up their copies of Red Daemon's and Ancient Fairy Dragons, making the crimson line-crested dragons appear high over Armityle's head.

"Open fire!" Yusuriha commanded, causing her dragon to shoot a blast of golden flames straight down upon Armityle's head. Immediately after that, Kyojo's Dragon shot down with its burning fist, crashing it into the head of the monster before quickly withdrawing. With that the three true Signer Dragons all opened their jaws wide and fired shots of their own energy straight at Armityle, striking in the same point and creating an explosion that cocooned the Sky Temple in smoke.

For the first few seconds the gang smiled brightly, believing that they had defeated the massive monster. However, seconds later they heard Placido say from within the structure, "Such treachery will not be tolerated, Yusuriha. You're next!" Without warning a blast of black energy came shooting up into the air to strike Yusuriha's Dragon, causing it to explode instantly and Yusuriha herself to buckle on her knees, then fall on her face.

"Why you!" Kyojo threatened, his Dragon showing its anger by diving down through the smoke down to where Placido was. This rapid drop made the smoke all dissipate at once; but then Placido simply jumped up into the air, dodging the attack. Then, before the dragon could return to the sky, Placido slashed his swords through the chest of the dragon, making it explode and Kyojo stagger as he coughed up blood.

"Now do you understand?" Placido asked solemnly, a dark glare in his eyes. "You are all doomed to perish, your blood spilling into this earth." Nobody had any time to react before Armityle fired another two blasts of black energy, one from each mouth; these then struck at three remaining dragons, creating two huge explosions that destroyed them all.

With this latest blast, Yusei, Jack and Aki all collapsed on their knees, clutching at their chests in pain just as everyone else had. All five Signer Marks among the various people then died out and faded, leaving the Signers powerless before they eventually collapsed completely. Though they remained conscious, they didn't have the strength to fight back; and even Kyojo finally collapsed upon hands and knees, panting and hacking up blood.

"Judai…" Yusei said under his breath. "It's all down to you…"

Inside his cell within the Sky Temple, Judai had felt the massive tremors from the ensuing battle and knew exactly what was going on; but he had no way to escape as it was. While he braced for the next round of attacks, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps running towards him; and before the figure appeared, he saw the glowing orange irises of the figure and knew who it was.

"There isn't much time," Johan informed Judai as he stepped into view, stopping with his hand through the bars. He and Yubel then said, "If we don't act quickly, the Signers may very well fall to Placido."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Judai asked, taking Johan's hand. Instantly an orange aura appeared around Johan as he and Judai closed their eyes; this aura then moved to Judai's body and eventually faded away. When they opened their eyes, Johan's were his normal eyes while Judai had his Yubel eyes back.

"Stand back," Judai warned. Then, Johan jumped back and Judai swung the blade of his Duel Disc straight through the bars, pulling them aside and jumping through the hole. "Show me the way," he insisted, and then Johan started off the way he came, followed by Judai. The reconfigured temple held a series of long tunnels and corridors that would confuse most; but using their senses acutely, Judai and Johan managed to find their way back to the hole and straight through in less than two minutes.

"I see our guest of honour has arrived," Placido chastised from above, prompting Judai to turn around and look up to see the man sneering. His vision when he arrived had shown him what had become of the group, and now he and Johan were left to face the wrath of the Demons alone. "Such a shame that the curtain must close so soon."

"Don't get your hopes up get," Judai stated, a white glow suddenly coming over his whole body. Closing his eyes and reaching for his Deck, a card on top of the Deck then turned glowing white and Placido took note, knowing that what happened next would be determinate of the battle.

"I won't let you undo all my hard work!" Placido yelled, pointing his sword at Judai. Responding to the cue, Armityle shot a stream of black energy from its jaws straight at Judai; but then a white spiral of energy appeared around Judai, forming the Rainbow Dragon and firing its own rainbow blast to deflect the attack.

"I won't let you defeat us!" Johan yelled. Meanwhile, inside his own mind, Judai could sense the presence of Taiyou's Stardust Dragon, which could only mean that battle had separated it from its master. He then felt the power of the dragon course through him; and with a dramatic snap, he pulled the glowing card from his Deck and held it to the sky.

"Come out, Stardust Dragon!" Judai yelled, making the huge aura jump off Judai and the card and collect in the air, forming the body of the crimson-lined Stardust Dragon Taiyou used hundreds of feet above Armityle's head.

"Your friends already tried and failed at this type of battle," Placido chastised, pointing his sword at the dragon and causing Armityle to galre up at it, preparing to fire again.

"Yes, but this time I will prevail," Judai countered. "Because this time, I have the power of bonds with me!" With a massive flare-like blast a red light appeared from Yusei's Deck and shot up towards the white dragon, the body of the small Salvation Dragon – Saviour Dragon within. Both dragons then rose up to the swirling clouds, meeting and fusing into a glowing red star.

"The power of bond will now join as one," Judai chanted, crossing his arms, "to cast out the evil and light the dark skies with justice!" Judai then shot his left arm into the air, causing a red bolt of lightning to shoot down from the star and strike him. He was then consumed in red, and when it died down the seal of the Crimson Dragon shone on his back.

"Can this be…?" Placido asked in a stunned tone as the Seal also formed around the entire Temple. Seconds later, the red star burst into a column of light, which pierced sections of darkness and rove them away. "No… you are not a Signer! You cannot summon that Dragon!"

"Come forth in light, Saviour Star Dragon!" Tapping into the power of everyone's bonds, Judai caused the form of the gigantic silver and blue dragon to shoot down from the light, glowing brightly as it shot straight down at Armityle. "And now, I take your monster's power and use it as my own. Sublimation Drain!" With that white sparks began to shoot off the massive form of the demon, causing it to growl in anger while the energy merged into the dragon.

"Pierce through the darkness and illuminate the world! Shooting Blaster Sonic!" Folding its wings against its body, the dragon sped up to supersonic speed and shot straight through the chest of the demon, only to shoot back up into the sky and disappear into a point of light. With a massive, fogging hole in its chest, the monster reared back and growled just before its entire body exploded into blackness, knocking Placido forward and onto his chest.

"How… can this be…?" Placido asked, getting up onto his feet again but shakily, staring down at Judai angrily while his black aura died away. "You should not have been able to call upon that monster! You're not a Signer!"

"I once was a Signer," Judai retorted, raising his fist in an aggressive way. "And besides, the power of bonds will always be enough to claim victory. All of a sudden the seal died down from Judai's back and his eyes returned to normal; and then behind Placido appeared the ghostly form of Yubel, who reached into his Duel Disc's Cemetery slot and took back all 4 Demon Cards before disappearing.

"It's over Placido," Johan said strongly, Yubel reappearing behind them with the 4 Demon Cards in her hand. "You have no monsters left with which to fight, therefore this Dark Game ends in our victory!"

"He's right," Jose pointed out; he and Lucciano stepping forward t their injured cohort. "There's no way we can fight back and win now. We have no choice but to retreat." With that the other two Infinity Members stepped to either side of Jose, Placido on the left, they lit up the three Infinity Symbols on their armour and created a huge burst of light; when it died down, the three were gone.

As the Crimson Dragon Seal disappeared from around the Signers, Summoners and everyone else, Yusei and Jack managed to get to their feet and step over to where Judai and Johan were, Rainbow Dragon roaring out before it disappeared into light as well. "Good job," Jack complemented to them gruffly, still sore from the attack. "You saved us and pulled out a win. We owe you."

"We'll discuss that later," Judai stated, turning to the structure before them. "We can't just adopt this thing, and we can't let Infinity come back to it. Therefore, we have to bury it deep in the ground."

"Leave that to me," Yubel stated before she burst out into a huge orange glow, her form growing and morphing until it was as large as the temple and no longer resembled her. From it then came the silhouette of her Ultimate Form, the black-furred dragon-like monster with 2 long necks and heads, a devil's head with 6 horns, a face on its chest with 3 eyes and an eye on each kneecap.

"Bury it and seal it there," Yusei commanded, prompting the dragon to roar and open both dragon heads very widely. They then released a huge burst of dark orange energy that surrounded the Sky Temple in a large field, and in seconds it began to slowly sink into the ground. By about a minute later, the entire thing was below the ground and the earth over it fell back into place, before a glowing orange hexagram curse formed over the mound.

Standing over on Godwin's old Mansion, Paradox saw the large creature standing before the building and reached into his pocket, grabbing a blank card and pointing it at Yubel's Ultimate Form. A black beam of energy then shot over at her and struck her in the face on her chest; but to Paradox's dismay, the beam had no effect and the dragon turned to face her.

"You!" Yubel's voice yelled at him, joined by sickening growls just before she blasted a shower of flames straight at him. His response was to hold up the card of Sin Cyber End Dragon, who coiled in front of the flames before being caught in them and exploding. After this, Paradox knew that he had no chance of victory here, and so he simply faded out into black fog again.

After that, Yubel's body dissolved away and changed back into her regular spirit form beside Judai; then she disappeared back into his body, making his eyes return to hers. Then, Judai looked up into the sky where Saviour Star Dragon had disappeared and thought to himself, _"It's all down to you Taiyou..."_

In the Dominion of Beasts Taiyou had managed to get himself back to his hands and knees and now onto a rickety standing stance, but he could only watch helplessly while Endymion fought with the powered-up Norsewemko below.

"Your doomsday is today," Norsewemko said snidely to Endymion, striking him in the chest with her staff and sending him flying straight into the base of the hill. "Your empire shall crumble, and then this world will be my domain."

"I…cannot allow that…" Endymion yelled back, shooting a burst of energy straight out of his staff at her; but she simply jumped forward in front of him, dodging it, and then she grabbed him by the face. Then, she threw him with that one hand into the middle of the valley onto his face, pointing her staff at him to finish the job.

"Oh… but I'm afraid you have no choice," the female magician said, feigning sympathy weakly as a ball of power began to form at the tip of her staff. However, all of a sudden a glowing ball of energy began to appear in the sky, getting her attention and giving Endymion enough time to stand up and turn to face his attacker.

Then, surprising everyone, the form of the legendary Saviour Star Dragon burst through the warp and shot over to the battlefield, hovering over the fighting magicians. The monster then went vertical and opened its wings, showering the field with blue sparkles of energy before firing off beams of energy in every direction. One of these beams caused Norsewemko to jump backwards, costing her the power of her attack; while another bolt hit Endymion.

When the blasts were gone, Endymion stood in the centre of the field, glowing blue, and the body of the dragon was revealed. It had the distinct glowing rd lines of Taiyou's Stardust Dragon, and so he knew that it had come back to him. Smiling, he watched as the Dragon condensed into a small blue orb and floated down, merging into Taiyou's body and infusing his Dragon's spirit with him. _"Thank you, Judai..."_

"This battle shall end here," Endymion issued, pointing his staff at Norsewemko and shooting a blue stream of energy at her. Her instinct was to raise her staff to block, which caused a huge explosion where she was and shaking her. "You fall here!" With that Endymion jumped up into the air, staff swung back and preparing to strike Norsewemko with it.

"Then you shall fall as well!" his counterpart shot back, also jumping up into the air with her staff slung backwards. The two then met in midair, crossing their staffs as they glowed blue and gold respectively; and then a huge white aura formed around the both of them, followed by an explosion of energy that created a column of light from ground to sky.

"No! Endymion!" Taiyou yelled out as every single Magician on the field stopped to see what was happening. After a few seconds, the light did not let up; in fact, it grew more and more intense, until everything faded away into white…

**Card of the Week – Norsewemko**

**Divine Evolution**

**Type:** Normal Magic

**Effect:**

CHAPTER: Activate by selecting 1 Level 10 or higher monster. If its original ATK is less than 3000, its Original ATK and DEF become 4000. If its original ATK is 3000 or more, increase its Original ATK and DEF by 1000. This card's activation and effect cannot be negated by any other card.

MANGA: Activate by selecting 1 Level 10 or higher monster. Increase its Original ATK and DEF by 1000. This card's activation and effect cannot be negated by any other card.

**ATK/** 2500

**DEF/** 2000

*The finales of these clashes were the most dramatic non-duel so far. More drama is to come. Review if you wish.*


	25. Last Resort of Infinity!

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 25 – ****Last Resort of Infinity! Target: Sherry Leblanc**

On the battlefield of the Dominion of Beasts, Taiyou suddenly saw the light recede from the massive clash and reveal what had become of the two Magician Leaders. A crater had formed in the ground from the massive attack, and now the two of them were lying within that pit. Scared for his master, Taiyou ran to the edge and slid down the hole.

When he got to the crater's edge, he saw the hundred of so remaining Bureaucracy soldiers all standing around Norsewemko's half of the crater. Her unconscious form their exploded into particles of light; but as for Endymion, he remained alive and conscious, but badly wounded and having trouble breathing.

Jumping down beside his master, Taiyou looked down upon Endymion and knelt down, grabbing the Magician's hand with his own. Endymion then looked over and saw him; and between raspy breaths, Endymion managed to say, "Taiyou… my greatest warrior… You fought well today. This world… needs warriors like you; and you… will continue to serve it well…"

"Stop saying things like that!" Taiyou said emotionally, tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes. "You survived! You'll be fine too in a few days!"

"No, my dear Taiyou… my time… in this world… is done." Reaching for his face with his left hand, he pulled off the black horned mask to reveal his eyes – light yellow scleras, red irises and almond-shaped pupils – and he handed it to Taiyou, placing it in his lap. "This world… is you Empire… now…"

"Don't go!" By now Taiyou had tears streaming down his face and could barely keep his eyes open; but still, Endymion managed to speak to him calmly.

"Fear not, Taiyou…" Endymion said, smiling to Taiyou as he spoke, reaching for Taiyou's Deck and pulling a card from it. Seeing the card of himself, he held it up to his chest and finally stated, "I… will always… be with you…" Finally, the Magician closed his eyes and his body dissolved into yellow particles of light as Norsewemko had' but unlike with her, these particles then fused into the card and gave it a yellow aura which glowed briefly before dying down.

At first, Taiyou simply collapsed to the ground, crying like a child who had lost his parents, and he stayed this way for about a minute. However, after that, he managed to snap back a bit from his despair and picked up his old master's mask, putting it over his face and hiding his blood-shot eyes behind the yellow one-way lenses. When several of Endymion's former soldiers gathered behind him, Taiyou simply turned to them and asked in a gruff tone,

"What are we waiting for? We have a funeral ceremony to arrange." With that he turned and stepped out of the hole, standing before the soldiers of Endymion and bowing to them in the traditional style of mourning. Then, Taiyou looked down at the Endymion card in his hand, and placed it in his Deck before walking off into the valley.

Approximately one week later, back in Neo Domino City, Judai, Jack and Kyojo were among the various levels of steel beams making the frame of a new building. After the hotel had been destroyed by Armityle, work ad been set in place to rebuild it; and all fifty levels of the skyscraper, plus its foundation, had already been finished.

The three men were there for a very specific reason: they had learned on a tip from Ushio that a person of interest in one of Syd's old cases was doing unknown, unusual business on the construction site at night time. Seeming suspicious and guessing that Infinity was somehow involved, they had made quick time getting from Poppo Time to the Construction Site.

Now, Jack was chasing the man along the 42nd floor of the building, with Kyojo on the level below him in case the man tried to jump down for an escape. Following the man dressed in black clothing to seem invisible at night, Jack had a hard time seeing the man completely, but he could see him and hear him well enough to follow.

However, as he was running along one of the steel structures, the man decided to jump onto a beam still suspended from a crane. Before Jack could even attempt this, the man grabbed a steel section of pipe and threw it at Jack, who thus had to jump off to one side to dodge the assault. Thus, the man sneered under his balaclava while he jumped down to the level below, on the beam just beside Kyojo.

"Not so fast hombre!" the Texan yelled out, jumping across the beam and putting the man into an instant headlock. Thinking that his element of surprise had the man beat, Kyojo stepped backwards so he could turn and pin the man against the vertical beam; but unfortunately, the man elbowed Kyojo in the head and make the back of his skull strike the beam, so he was forced to let the man go.

However, the man didn't see Judai on the next level below, so when he jumped down he was completely startled to see the red-jacketed man standing on that level, right hand on his hip and a confident smile on his face. "Going somewhere?' Judai then asked him coyly; and thinking that being taller and buffer meant he could beat Judai, the man rushed him and tried to grab him by the throat.

To his surprise though, Judai managed to grab him by the collar and the right shoulder first, picking the man up and pinning him to a vertical beam a few feet above the old one. Realizing his position, the man then reached into his pocket and produced a taser, ready to shock Judai; but before he could, Judai turned his eyes to Yubel's and manifested her powers, causing the electricity to jump ff him back onto the man himself.

After only a couple of seconds the man dropped his taser from the pain and Judai shoved him down into the joint between horizontal and vertical steel. With that done he yelled up to Jack and Kyojo, "Good news guys, I caught the rat!" Then, Judai looked back down at his captive and bent down, pulling back his hood just as Jack and Kyojo jumped down behind him.

Stepping aside, Judai allowed Kyojo to pick up the man by his collar and ask him, "Who in tarnation are you? Ushio didn't give us your name, so now we're asking you."

"What makes you think I have anything to say to you?" the man asked arrogantly and hostilely, slapping Kyojo in the face as he did so. In reply, Kyojo shoved the man into the steel beam again, and then threw him down on the horizontal beam.

"We are not screwing around here!" Jack roared at the man, stepping on his back before letting go and picking him back up. "Start talking, or I'll make sure it's the last thing you say!" With that Jack threw his back and the man stood up, staring back defiantly.

"You know what they'll do to me if I talk to the cops?" the man asked, once again being hostile. "If I say anything to you police guys, they'll do things to me you can't even imagine."

"We're not fucking cops," Judai said to the man with crossed arms. Starting up again in his and Yubel's voices he added, "We're the people who are going to get everything we need from you, or WE will do things beyond anything you can imagine them doing."

"What are you?" the man asked in terror, trying to step back from Judai but being pinned against the beam when he ran out of room. When Judai was standing a mere foot away from him, his left forearm glowed with dark orange flames until it morphed into Yubel's demonic claw and his eyes changed back into hers.

Sneering, Judai then said in both voices, "We are your undoing." Wasting no time, Judai grabbed the man by the face with the demon claw, causing an energy surge that reversed the colour scheme for a split second and created black electricity from his face. The man then screamed in terror as Judai looked on sternly and the other two watched in disbelief.

"Okay, okay!" the man yelled in a muffled way from below the demon hand, allowing Judai to release his grip and lower his arm to his side. The man's eyes no longer reflected any light but seemed black, his pupils faded, and he slumped weakly against the beam as he shook in terror. "The name's Bokuru, and I'm a drug dealer."

"That's not useful information to us," Judai and Yubel said in unison, "and you're lying. We know you were connected to Syd before he died, and he was dealing in stolen D-Wheels, not drugs." Reaching into his pocket, Judai pulled out 3 pictures: one of Placido, one of Lucciano and one of Yusuriha, and asked, "Did one of these people ever approach you for a business transaction?"

Looking at the figures carefully, Bokuru soon pointed to the two females among the pictures and shakily said, "Yeah, that's them right there. They two of 'em showed up at my place of business and told me they were taking half our product or we were going to jail."

"And how many D-Wheels did they take from you?" Jack asked of the man, looking impatient for an answer.

"None of the actually," the man replied quickly. "They looked them over looking for some secret compartment. Said that one of them had a card they were looking for… Oh, what was it called? Z-ONE; yeah, that's it."

"Z-ONE?" Kyojo inquired, putting his fingers to his chin and pondering. Then, out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure in a full body suit quickly jump down from the other side of their level to the level below it; then he pointed to her and said, "Hey, who the hell's that?"

Looking quickly, Bokuru said quickly, "That's nobody I know." Without waiting for anything more, the three friends and Bokuru all started down the levels after the figure, who seemed to stay a level ahead of them without any effort. Within five minutes they had reached the bottom level, and then the ground as the figure began to dart off into an alley.

However, when the group followed her into the darkened area, they were stopped instantly when they saw the figure in her body suit standing right in front of them, and then all of a sudden she was on the ground, fling backwards and to the left. Everyone then turned when they heard Bokuru let out a pained grunt, and watched him slump to the ground, dead.

Looking down at the body, Kyojo saw that a card had been thrown straight into Bokuru's Carotid artery; and he saw that the card was a copy of Thunder Bolt. Looking back over, they saw that Sherry had fallen on the ground, slashed across the arm by the same card, and so Judai ran over to her and grabbed her to check if she was alright.

"Are you alright?" Judai then asked, getting no reply other than a confused and scared look. It then became clear to him that the figure did not speak Japanese, and so he then asked in English, "I asked if you were alright."

"Je m'excuse," was the whimpering reply by the woman, which made it clear to Judai why she had not known Japanese. "Je ne peux pas parler le Japonais bien; seulement le français et un petit peu de l'anglais."

"Pourquoi est-ce que vous avez couru?" Judai then asked in a rather seamless French accent, getting a surprised look from both Kyojo and Jack.

"How do you know how to speak French?" Kyojo then inquired, asking the question on his hand Jack's minds.

"While I was traveling, I spent 2 months in Paris and 1 month in Quebec," Judai explained. "I learned enough French to get along with the people."

"J'avais peur des hommes qui veulent me tuer," the woman then replied, giving Judai a sense of the graveness before he conveyed the same message to the others in Japanese. "Ils on déjà tué mes parents pour quelque chose qu'ils avaient."

"What could they possibly have had that would have been worth killing for?" Jack asked, only for Sherry to reach into her pocket and pull out a single card.

"How nice to see you get some use out of your language skills," Judai heard a female voice ask from the shadows of the alley ahead. Watching angrily, Judai saw a woman in a white cloak with the hood out step from the darkness, a glowing blue Infinity symbol under her hood.

Looking back over at the figure, Judai gave them a dark glare and said scathingly, "What do you people want now?" The only sort of reply was for the figure to lower the hood of their cloak, revealing the sneering face of Lucciano and causing the glow of the Infinity symbol to extinguish.

"We've been looking for you for quite some time, Sherry Leblanc," Lucciano said, prompting the figure to pull off the section of their suit over their head. This revealed a train of long blond hair and a pair of sparkling blue eyes, though the anger and terror in her features overshadowed this.

"Why are you after me?" Sherry managed to ask in Japanese with her French accent still present, pointing a finger accusingly at the Infinity woman. "I know you're the ones who've been sending Yliaster members after me for years; you're the ones who threatened my life unless I dropped from the WRGP. You owe me an explanation at the very least."

"Very well," Lucciano replied, closing her eyes briefly. "You are in possession of an object which we have been seeking for quite some time, and until you relinquish it we will not allow you out of our sight. You see, should what you have fall into the wrong hands, then there is no hope for this world."

"I don't believe you!" Sherry replied angrily, getting to her feet along with Judai. "None of your people have ever approached me and demanded such an object; nor did they approach my parents for that reason before they murdered them."

"Believe what you will," Lucciano succinctly stated as a glowing blue Infinity symbol formed and surrounded the two women. "But know this; you will not leave this place unless you can earn your freedom from this circle."

"Don't accept, Sherry," Judai warned loudly, annoying Lucciano and causing Sherry to snap back and look at him. Raising her hand to Judai, Lucciano created a blue aura around Judai that seemed to bind him; but he simply activated Yubel's powers and shattered it, his glowing orange and green eyes glowing back at Lucciano's Infinity symbol.

"You can't stop her now, Judai," Lucciano replied in a dark manner. With that she produced two Duel Discs, one with each arm, and threw a right-handed model with her left hand over to Sherry before putting on her own left-handed Disc.

"I won't let you simply have your way with her if you've caused such terror for her already!"

"You believed her Judai?" Lucciano scoffed, looking at Judai with a half-sinister half-sympathetic smile. "She told you she doesn't speak Japanese well; clearly she speaks it fluently. What else did she lie to you about?"

"People don't lie about the deaths of family," Judai shot back, denying the implication.

"Nevertheless, this is between me and her anyway."

"Elle a raison, Judai," Sherry said back to the man behind her. Nodding, Judai understood that he was to back out, so he stepped backwards over the barrier and back in line with Jack and Kyojo; all of whom watched intently and with crossed arms while Sherry put on the Duel Discs.

"Are you ready to forfeit your treasure, girl?" Lucciano asked, a sadistic twinge in her voice as she pulled out her glowing blue Deck and placed it into the Duel Disc, causing the glow to spread to her while Duel Disc and then her whole body.

"If you're going to claim a prize," Sherry argued, "then I want you to offer me something for my victory."

"Very well," Lucciano replied. "If you should win, then I'll have nothing more to do with you." After hearing this, Sherry pulled out a Deck from her pocket and threw it into her Duel Disc, activating it, and pulling five cards from her Deck as Lucciano did the same.

"DUEL!"

Sherry: LP 4000

Lucciano: LP 4000

"I'll take the first turn," Lucciano insisted, drawing a card as she said this; then, she took the card she had drawn and held it up. "I Summon Sky Core (ATK: 0, LV: 1)." With that the form of the blue egg-like structure materialized to Lucciano's right before she took a second card from her hand and jammed it into a Magic and Trap Card Slot. "Next I set one card and end my turn."

"Then I draw," Sherry declared, pulling another card from her hand and activating it. "I activate the Magic Card, Solar Exchange. By discarding one Lightlord monster, I draw 2 cards from my Deck and send 2 cards from my Deck to the Cemetery. I discard Lightlord Paladin Jain." Holding up the mentioned monster, Sherry placed it into the Cemetery and drew 2 cards before taking 2 more cards and throwing them away.

Seconds later, however, one of the two cards slid back out of her Duel Disc and a tall white monster resembling a werewolf, wearing silver and gold-trimmed armour, a green war-skirt and carrying a long gold staff. "You see, when Lightlord Beast Wolf is sent from the Deck to the Cemetery by a card's effect, it Special Summons itself (ATK: 2100, LV: 4)."

"The self-mill strategy," Jack said under his breath. "Lightlords are excellent at getting to their best cards."

"They're a huge part of the Tournament scene in the Western World," Kyojo informed, Judai nodding to attest to this.

"Next, I release my Wolf to Summon Lightlord Angel Celestia (ATK: 2300, LV: 5)!" All of a sudden the existing monster changed into a beam of light and released a tall, angelic form with white-feathered wings, blue hair topped by a halo, a decorated staff and the same type of silver and gold armour. "And now, due to its effect, I send my top 4 cards to the Cemetery and destroy your two cards!"

Reaching for her Deck, Sherry took 4 cards and threw them all into the Cemetery before her monster created a beacon of light on its staff, shooting said light at Lucciano's monster and set cards and causing them to shatter. However, there then appeared a blue column of energy from the ground, making Sherry wonder what had happened.

"When Sky Core is destroyed," Lucciano explained, "I Special Summon the pieces of Machine Emperor Skiel to the Field: Skiel Infinity (ATK: 0, LV: 1), Skiel Top (ATK: 600, LV: 1), Skiel Attack (ATK: 1000, LV: 1), Skiel Guard (DEF: 300, LV: 1) and Skiel Carrier (ATK: 400, LV: 1). Fuse together!" With that the blue light unfurled itself into the shape of the long serpent-like creature with spindly wings and the open silvery Infinity Symbol on its chest.

"Machine Emperor Skiel (ATK: 2200, LV: 1)," Judai said under his breath. "It's less powerful than Wisel, but its pieces have more tricks than that one, so this will be a very dark chapter in the duel."

"In addition," Lucciano revealed, "Since Dummy Marker was destroyed by an opponent's effect, I draw 2 cards." With that Lucciano smiled darkly as she pulled up 2 new cards from her Deck and placed them in her hand.

"I'm not scared of your little composite monster," Sherry stated, pulling a card from her hand and flipping it around. "I activate Reinforcements of Light, and I send 3 cards to the Cemetery to add Lightlord Summoner Lumina to my hand!" Reaching for her Deck, Sherry threw out 3 more cards and pulled a monster from her Deck; then, yet another card slid out of the Cemetery and she held it up.

"Because I sent Lightlord Rapier to the Cemetery, I equip it to Celestia for an extra 700 ATK (ATK: 3000). Now, I'll attack Skiel Carrier with Celestia!" As she said this, the staff of her monster changed into a glowing white blade with a golden, twisted handle and the equipped angel shot at the wings of the monster' but strangely, the tail of the monster swung into the path and the blade was reflected.

"Sorry, but once per turn my Skiel Guard allows me to negate an attack on my Skiel monsters. For right now, that means my monsters cannot be harmed."

"That maybe the case, but with the power of my Angel my Life Points are safe as well," Sherry retorted. "And just in case you feel like trying something, I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Then I'll take my turn," Lucciano stated, reaching for her Deck and pulling a seventh card into her hand. "I activate the Magic Card, Sky Wave, and evolve my Machine Emperor Skiel to Machine Emperor Skiel 3!"

"What?"

"I call forth Skiel Top 3 (ATK: 800, LV: 3), Skiel Attack 3 (ATK: 1200, LV: 3), Skiel Guard 3 (DEF: 900, LV: 3) and Skiel Carrier 3 (ATK: 600, LV: 3)!" in a flash of blue light the wings, tail, cannon and head of the strange monster were replaced by brand new pieces. First, the head was replaced by a long, cone-like structure that unfurled a long segmented neck and a crest of spikes on its back before opening 4 red eyes and attaching itself.

Second, a dragonfly-like creature emerged and folded its wings, legs and body into a cube-like cannon and attached itself to the underside of the main body. Then, a centipede-like creature appeared and folded its head into a plug, attaching like a many-feathered tail with two spikes on its end. Finally, another dragonfly-like creature appeared and folded into 2 long, saw-like wings and attached on the back of the creature, and it screeched out loudly (ATK: 3000, LV: 1).

"Just like Wisel, Skiel has the ability to transform by upgrading to stronger parts," Lucciano informed. "Next, I activate the effect of Skiel Attack 3, and I send it to the Cemetery to summon Skiel Attack 5 from my Deck (ATK: 1400, LV: 5)." With this the cannon on the underside disappeared and was replaced by a beetle-like object, which also folded into a cube-like cannon and attacked itself to the main body (ATK: 3200). "Due to this monster, Skiel may direct attack the opposing player."

"Not quite," Sherry declared, flipping her card. "I activate my Permanent Trap: Direct Border! Battle Damage from Direct Attacks becomes 0!"

"You should be less impulsive my dear," Lucciano scolded. "Waiting until I attacked would have meant you escaped unharmed; now, my stronger monster will crush your Angel. Battle! I attack Celestia with Skiel 3!"

"Not so fast!" Sherry countered, flipping her other card and making Lucciano cringe. "I play my other Permanent Trap, Lightlord Barrier. When a Lightlord is attacked, I may send my top 2 cards to the Cemetery and negate that attack." Taking her top two cards and throwing them into the Cemetery, Sherry watched as a glass dome formed around her monster just as the cannon fired a blue beam of energy, shattering the dome but causing no harm.

"And in addition, a second Wolf was sent to the Cemetery," Sherry declared, the card reappearing and conjuring the werewolf-like monster again with a roar, "it is Special Summoned to the field (ATK: 2100, LV: 4)."

"Then I set 4 cards and end my turn," Lucciano said in annoyance. "Good job escaping my wrath this turn, but unfortunately you cannot keep that up forever; or should I say, your Deck can't."

"She's right," Judai informed. "Thanks to all her effects, her Deck is already down to 20 cards. With how Lightlord Decks function, she could be out of cards in as little as two turns."

"Then this will be a very short duel," Jack realized, looking at the field and casting a frustrated glare at Lucciano.

"Draw!" Sherry declared, pulling another card from her Deck. "I release Wolf to Summon Lightlord Dragon Gragonis (ATK: 2000, LV: 6)." Again the monster disappeared into light, this time to be replaced by an armoured white dragon with a golden mane and tail like a horse, and a pair of small forearms but long legs.

"This monster gains an additional 300 ATK for each different Lightlord in my Cemetery. At this moment, that number is 4 (ATK: 3200), making it equally as strong as your monster. Thus, I attack your Skiel Carrier 3 with my Gragonis!"

"Due to the effect of my Skiel Guard 3, Skiel Monsters cannot be destroyed in battle," Lucciano informed. However, the attack of the dragon still appeared in the form of a white blast from the dragon's mouth, shooting at the wings and striking them, creating an explosion.

Seconds later, however, Sherry felt a strong pain in her body and screamed out as she fell onto one knee, her Life Points falling. Looking back, she watched as the smoke cleared and Lucciano was standing there, smirking with a card flipped over on her field. "I activated Dimension Wall, and due to this all Damage from that attack is redirected to you."

Sherry: LP 1400

Lucciano: LP 4000

"Maybe," Sherry said as she got back to her feet, "But I still have my Angel! I attack your Carrier with her!" Jumping forward, she slashed at the wings of the giant monster, creating a white glowing mark; however, Lucciano then opened another card and created a mirror that showed Sherry, right before the blade shot into that structure.

"I activate Torture Mirror," Lucciano stated. "When I would receive Battle Damage of 2000 or more, I can negate that damage and give 1000 Damage to the opponent." With that Sherry felt another strong sensation of pain and she clutched at her chest, watching as all but the last of her Life Points were taken away.

Sherry: LP 400

Lucciano: LP 4000

"I set one card," Sherry said before reaching for her Deck. "In the End Phase, Gragonis sends my top 3 cards to the Cemetery." Grabbing for her Deck, Sherry took 3 cards and inserted then into the Cemetery. "Now I end my turn."

"Draw," Lucciano stated, pulling one card from her own Deck. "Now, I activate a Trap Card known as Gift of Greed, allowing you to draw 2 cards." Watching, Sherry pulled 2 cards from her own Deck and looked at them before Lucciano snapped her fingers, opening her last card. "I activate my Trap Card: If We Die, We Die Together!"

Watching in terror, Sherry threw out the three cards in her hand as Lucciano did the same, and directly after that both players pulled 5 new cards from their Decks and suffered 300 points in damage.

Sherry: LP 100

Lucciano: LP 3700

"Now that my hand is buffed and your Deck is down to 9 cards," Lucciano teased, indicating Sherry's incredibly small Deck, "I think I'll cast the Magic Card Lightning Vortex. I discard a second Sky Core, and Destroy every monster you control!" Watching in terror, Sherry saw lightning crash down from the sky and strike her two monsters, causing them both to explode. "Next, I set one card."

"Is that all?" Sherry asked, seeming rather annoyed at the current state of affairs.

"I'm afraid not," Lucciano stated. "I activate the Permanent Spell Destiny Trigger. I activate this card by sending my top card to the Cemetery." As she said this, a dark grey hand holding a bone-shaped explosive object and she pulled a card from her Deck to hold up, revealing a Monster Card and throwing it into the Cemetery.

"Now, I end my turn."

"Draw!" Sherry declared, pulling a card from her Deck and revealing a Magic Card. Then, she grabbed one already in her hand. "I Summon Lightlord Summoner Lumina (DEF: 1000, LV: 3)." Placing the card horizontally onto the tray, she called up a tan-skinned blond female in a white dress up into a crouching position and turned it blue before taking a card in her hand and throwing it away.

"By discarding one card, I Special Summon Lightlord Magician Lyra (ATK: 1700, LV: 4)!" She then called up a white-robed female with dark hair and a gold staff in hand, who then took up a crouching position. "Next, by changing this card to Defence Position (DEF: 200), I destroy your Destiny Trigger!"

As she said this, her monster also took up a crouching position and turned blue before the set card on Lucciano's field shattered. "Hold on, what just happened?"

"I activate the effect of my set card, Power Trigger," Lucciano informed, holding it up. "If my opponent activates a card effect that destroys cards, I may send this set card to the Cemetery to negate that effect."

"Very well," Sherry stated. "I set 2 cards. In the End Phase, my two monsters mean I must send 6 cards to the Cemetery." With that Sherry grabbed all but two of her monsters and threw them into the Cemetery, leaving her Cemetery brimming with cards and her hand the same size as her Deck.

"Draw," Lucciano stated. "Now, I attack your Summoner with Skiel Attack 5!"

"I activate Divining Light!" Sherry countered, flipping her Trap Card. "I send my two Lightlords to the Cemetery and add two Magic or Trap Cards from my Cemetery to my hand. I choose Tempest and Cold Wave." With that her two monsters disappeared and her two said cards slid from her Cemetery into her hand, where she placed them carefully.

"Then I set two card and end my turn," Lucciano stated, placing the last of her hand onto the tray.

"Draw!" Sherry declared, pulling a card that was then revealed as a Monster card. Seconds later, the hand pressed the button and exploded, creating a shockwave that struck Sherry, making her fall on her hands and knees in pain.

Sherry: LP 50

Lucciano: LP 3700

"Get up Sherry!" Judai yelled in concern, his own expression mirrored by Jack and Kyojo.

"This does not concern you Judai," Lucciano replied before looking back at Sherry with sadistic pleasure. "Very soon I'll claim my prize and she'll be out of our way."

"I'm not done yet!" Sherry countered, getting to her feet and looking at Lucciano with a look of hatred. "You might have knocked my Life Points almost to Zero, and my Deck maybe down to 2 cards, but I can assure you that my Deck remains strong. I'll show you! Magic Activate: Cold Wave! In the next two turns, Magic and Trap Cards cannot be set or activated!" With that declared, a wave of frost covered over both of the set cards before Lucciano and started on Sherry's card; but then, she smiled.

"I Chain my Trap Card, Light of Convergence! I discard my hand and return the same number of Light-Type Monsters to my hand." With that she placed all 5 cards into her Cemetery and watched as five Light Monsters shot back out, including one that made her smile.

"Next, I'll point out that in my Cemetery there are six unique Lightlord Monsters: Wolf, Grangonis, Celestia, Garos, Lumina and Raikou. Thus, I have cleared the Summoning Conditions to my ultimate monster. Come, Judgment Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" With that a huge column of light burst up from the ground behind her, which revealed the silhouette of a huge dragon within it.

Seconds later, that light was dispelled by a stronger light that revealed a glowing white dragon the size of the local buildings. Its entire body was covered in snow white feathers along with its massive wings, it had a name of hair off its head and tail, its clays and eyes were red, and it had two long whiskers like a Chinese Dragon of myth. Having appeared, it roared out angrily and shook the ground, scaring Lucciano slightly.

"Judgment Dragon has the ability to destroy all other cards on the field for 1000 Life Points," Sherry pointed out. "However, as you know, I don't have enough Life Points for that effect; but even so, it has enough Attack Strength for a massive burst. Battle! I attack your Skiel Carrier 3 with Judgment Dragon!"

Roaring out, the dragon opened its jaws and blasted a beam of golden light straight at the wings of the monster; and though they survived, the resulting explosion caused Lucciano to be struck with energy and collapse onto her own knees, unable to avoid the damage this time.

Sherry: LP 50

Lucciano: LP 1100

As soon as the blast was gone, Lucciano brought herself back to a standing position, watching the confident smile on Sherry's face as she reached for another card in her hand. "Next, I set one monster and end my turn." _"This Duel is in the bag. The last card in my Deck is a second Judgment Dragon, which I'll draw next turn. And just in case that fails, I have my set monster to deal with her."_

"So, I bet you think you have everything you need in your possession," Lucciano asked, pointing at the gigantic dragon standing behind Sherry and in front of Judai, Jack and Kyojo. "You'd be wrong. One strike from my Skiel, and that's all."

"I doubt that will suffice," Sherry replied confidently, looking at her hand as she said this. Seconds later however, the glowing blue Infinity Symbol around them began to pulsate and grow more intense, which caused Sherry to start to stagger and put her hand on her knee to steady herself.

"Your reaction says otherwise," Lucciano sneered, watching as Sherry suddenly dropped her hand and fell onto the ground, on her hands and knees while she panted heavily. Sherry then tried to push herself up with her arms, but it was to no avail and she quickly collapsed face-down upon the ground.

"Sherry!" Kyojo yelled out loud, Judai running over to the Infinity Barrier and stopping short. "You bitch! Why are you doing this to her?!"

"You people are far too gullible," Lucciano chastised. "Sherry Leblanc's parents are alive and well, living in Paris with their son Marc Leblanc. Sherry is the middle name of Mrs. Leblanc; nobody by the name Sherry Leblanc even exists."

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked in disbelief. "Then who is she?"

"Her name is Sherry Deville, and she's a French Secret Service officer. She was sent here by the French Government to investigate Yliaster, under the statement that she was involved in the WRGP. That story she fed you was all one of many fabrications she's made. And we do not tolerate fraud."

"Whether that's true or not," Judai stated, raising his Duel Disc, "the duel isn't over yet. Sherry still has 50 Life Points and 1 card in her Deck, as well as all those cards in play. You didn't win."

"Then care you to step up and take me on?" Lucciano challenged.

"Maybe not me," Judai stated before Yubel's voice joined him, "but I'd certainly be willing to take you on." With that an orange aura of flames appeared on Judai and separated from him, taking on the solid form of Yubel and returning Judai's eyes to normal.

"I'll take Sherry's place and her Life Points," Yubel declared, her Duel Disc growing out from her Left arm and a Deck solidifying in its slot. "The same stakes will apply. So, do you have any arguments?"

"Arguments? Why would I argue with the chance to defeat such a thorn in our side?" With that Yubel reached for her Deck and pulled 5 new cards, the Solid Vision from Sherry's Duel Disc wearing off and the Life Point Counter on Yubel's setting itself while Sherry's deactivated.

Yubel: LP 50

Lucciano: LP 1100

In the darkness of his lair, Paradox was continuing with his work, completely unphased by the incident at Godwin's mansion. In fact, the time that had passed had given him the chance to get farther into his project. He was now a week farther into Godwin's old work, and now he was on the verge of something he considered grand.

"So this is the place you consider your little hideout," Placido's voice mused, causing Paradox to turn to his left and pull off his mask. Looking back with his glowing eyes, he saw the glowing green and yellow Infinity marks of Placido and Jose; then, their bodies began to glow in the colour and their forms became visible.

"What are you doing here?" Paradox asked defensively, taking up an aggressive position while Placido simply gave back his confident smile, amused at Paradox's reaction.

"I expected more than a carbon copy of Rex Godwin's work," Placido scorned, stepping closer to the taller man. "I must say, I'm disappointed in your inability to go beyond the work of a failed scientist."

"Godwin only failed because you discarded him," Paradox replied in hostility, a ghostly version of himself splitting off from his body and imitating his pose. "It was you who led the Godwin Brothers down the path to ruin, and then you threw them away when they no longer suited your purposes!"

"Godwin was my partner every step of the way," Placido retorted, countering Paradox. "He was as much my cohort as Lucciano and Jose. See, unlike you Paradox, I don't feel the urge to kill everyone I meet; I can actually get what I need by cooperating with others."

"You're a sociopath!" Paradox accused, pointing at his enemy. "You don't simply use others; you twist them into monstrous demons with God Complexes, then you discard them when they no longer suit your needs."

"I'm the sociopath, am I?" Placido questioned in amusement, putting his hand against his chest. "You should take a closer look at yourself, Paradox; you're so twisted that you're incapable of human connection. Fortunately for you, that gives me a use for you."

"What?" Paradox asked in amazement, only to understand when Placido drew his sword and slashed Paradox across the chest, knocking him backwards. Then, Placido jumped so that his feet were to either side of Paradox's abdomen and held his sword above the man's forehead, ready to plunge it.

Just then, Paradox managed to grab a throwing knife from his pouch and throw it up into Placido's Infinity eyepatch, causing blood to spill down upon Placido's face but not causing the man any harm. Instead, Placido simply put his sword back in its scabbard and picked Paradox up by the collar, the knife still in his eye socket, and said, "I guess you forgot about that."

With Jose looking on in disgust, Placido threw Paradox into the side of the reactor, giving him a huge electric shock and making him slump to the floor. Turning around, Placido looked back at Jose with a confident smile and ripped the knife out of his eye socket, throwing it to the ground. Then, he turned back to Paradox and pulled his sword out again, pointing it at his forehead.

"It's time we put your talents to good use," Placido stated sadistically. With that he plunged the sword's tip into Paradox's forehead, making the man scream in pain and Jose cringe in disgust while a burst of green energy formed at the sword tip. A second later Placido removed his blade and the orb burst like a bubble, forming a glowing green Infinity symbol where the scar would have been.

Opening his eyes, Paradox's ghostly form disappeared and his glowing yellow eyes changed to green. Then, the man stood up and placed his right hand on his chest before bowing to Placido; then he asked, "What is my first instruction?"

"You are by now familiar with the Z-ONE card I take it?" Placido asked. When Paradox nodded he added, "I need to use that card to get to a specific point in time, and I need you to connect me to that time."

"If you can bring me the card, I can connect you to it," Paradox informed. "What time exactly are you after?"

"I need to reach the Battle City V2 Tournament," Placido informed. "Yugi's Legendary Egyptian God Cards have enough power in them to fuel my next project; and I need access to both them and the Legendary Nameless Pharaoh."

"Then I will complete the connection as soon as I have the card," Paradox answered. Smiling, Placido turned and walked over to Jose, raising his sword to the air. Seconds later its blade lit up and he swung it downwards, creating a slash in the very reality before them. Thus, both men disappeared into the glowing green energy created, leaving only Paradox in his chamber.

Seconds later, however, the Infinity symbol on his forehead shattered and his eyes returned to yellow. Sneering, he turned back and thought to himself, _"Those Egyptian Gods will provide enough power to complete my project. This has proven quite a lucrative venture."_

**Card of the Week – Sherry**

**Judgment Dragon**

**Type:** LIGHT

**Level:** 8

**Tribes:** [Dragon/Effect]

**Effect:** This card cannot be Normal Summoned or set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except when there are 4 or more "Lightlord" Monsters with different names in your Cemetery. Activate by paying 1000 Life Points. Destroy all other cards on the field except this card. During your End Phase, send the top 4 cards of your Deck to the Cemetery.

**ATK/** 3000

**DEF/** 2600

*Spoiler alert: Yugi next chapter. Review if you wish.*


	26. Connect the Past and Future!

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Author's Note:** I apologize for the lateness in posting this latest chapter; I've been busy with exams, summative projects, other projects, social ventures; and on top of that, I've been suffering from fatigue and writer's block, which got me behind on my writing. Without further a due, let us continue with C'est LaVie.

**Chapter**** 26 – ****Connect the Past and Future! Target: Mutou Yugi**

Standing opposite Lucciano in the blue Infinity seal, Yubel looked at her five cards with a very confident expression. She then reached for her Deck and declared, "I draw," nonchalantly, placing the card into her hand without another word.

"Well?" Lucciano asked impatiently. "Are you going to make your move, or are you simply too afraid of my Machine Emperor (ATK: 3200, LV: 1)?"

"I have made my move," Yubel replied. "I choose to end my turn without playing a single card." This statement jot a surprised look from Kyojo and Jack, but a confident smile from Judai matching Yubel's as e realized what she was doing.

"Have you lost your mind?" Lucciano then inquired forcefully, closing her fist as Yubel simply stared back calmly and in a reserved manner. "Or is your Deck simply so bad that your hand isn't playable?" After a few seconds Yubel had not changed her expression or answered, so Lucciano snapped, "Answer me!"

"I don't have to," Yubel replied, cool as a cucumber despite her opponent's taunting. "I declare the end of my turn. Do as you wish."

Standing opposite her, a maliciously smiling Lucciano reached for her own Deck, grabbing a card and yelling, "Very well! Draw!" Then, she pointed her card straight at Yubel and declared, "Battle! I attack your Life Points with Skiel!"

Screeching, the mechanical creature began to collect energy in the giant cannon on the underside of its body, giving Lucciano the sense that she had won. This feeling was reinforced when the beam fired itself straight at Yubel; however, it faded when a large eye with a yellow sclera, red iris and black pupil opened in front of Yubel, taking the brunt of the assault.

"What kind of cheap trick is this?" Lucciano asked accusingly as Yubel crossed her arms and closed her eyes, smirking. "You had a turn and chose not to play any cards; thus, you shouldn't have been able to stop my attack!"

"Is that so?" Yubel inquired as a blue aura formed around her, immediately followed by the appearance of a transparent card. "Due to the effect of Chaos Gardna, I make the damage from a direct attack 0 and add the power of the attacking monster to my score." This statement got an incredibly irate glare from Lucciano, and a look of understanding from Judai's comrades.

Yubel: LP 3250

Lucciano: LP 1100

"Yubel just turned the duel around in a single move," Kyojo realized, adjusting his shades. "Her strategies are usually based around self-regeneration, using Trap Cards to strengthen herself so she has enough longevity to summon her best monsters."

"And in this case," Jack added on, "she was able to use Lucciano's power against her, strengthening her Life Points to almost triple Lucciano's."

"You may have saved yourself this turn," Lucciano said in annoyance, "but it does you no good! I set one card and change to Defence Position: Skiel Top 3 (DEF: 300, LV: 1), Skiel Attack 3 (DEF: 300, LV: 1), and Skiel Carrier (DEF: 300, LV: 1). With that my turn is finished!"

"Then I guess I draw," Yubel stated calmly, pulling her card from her Deck and spinning it around. "I activate the Magic Card, Angel's Gift." Pulling 3 cards from her Deck in one motion, Yubel then took two cards in her hand and threw them into the Cemetery before stating, "Next, I Summon Phantom Demon Avatar (ATK: 0, LV: 1)."

From a black cloud of smoke appeared a tall, grey-skinned demonic creature with a black cape extended from a skeletal wing frame, black robes framed with dull yellow and red skeletal pieces, and a face hidden inside a black bison skull. On its chest were three orbs in a triangle formation; one navy, one crimson and one gold. "Next, I set one card and end my turn."

"Draw!" Lucciano yelled out, snapping up her card and then adding it to her hand. "Battle! I direct attack Yubel with Machine Emperor Skiel!" Once again the monster in front of her formed a charge in its cannon and shot that power at Yubel; this time, Yubel snapped her fingers and her set card flipped up.

"Permanent Trap Open: Delta Barrier. When this card activates, I activate 2 Delta Barrier Cards from my Cemetery. When all 3 are on the field, once per turn, I make the battle damage to both players and any monsters 0." With that identical copies of the card appeared on either side of the existing one; then, the blast simply diffused into floating particles, drifting aimlessly before fading out.

"I set another card and end my turn," Lucciano said bitterly, now more so than ever. _"Only Skiel can attack each turn, which will stop me from ever dealing battle damage while those cards exist. Unless I destroy them, I can't win; Yubel could simply stall until I deck out. Which I may, since I went through my Deck so much last Duel."_

"You may think I want to Deck you out," Yubel suddenly stated, getting Lucciano's attention. "But I assure you, you'll be dead long before that. Draw!" AS Yubel pulled her card, the red orb on her monster's chest began to glow; and then Yubel declared, "I set one card and end my turn."

"Such bland moves," Lucciano lamented. "Draw!" Seeing the card which she had drawn and smiling, she spun it around and declared, "I activate the Instant Magic, Cyclone!"

"Don't try it!" Yubel challenged. "Permanent Trap Open: Customs of the Imperial Court! Permanent Trap Cards now cannot be destroyed by card effects."

"Then I have no choice but to end my turn," Lucciano said softly, her own situation starting to seem more and more hopeless.

"Draw," Yubel declared, her monster's gold orb lighting up as well before she placed her card face-down and stated, "I end my turn by setting one card."

"_Does she intend to stall until that thing's three orbs light up?"_ Lucciano asked herself. "Draw!" Seeing the card and being disappointed she said, "I set one card and end my turn."

"Then let the real show begin," Yubel declared with a confident smile. "I draw!" When she drew her last card, the navy orb finally lit up and she informed, "Now that Phantom Demon Avatar has 3 Phantom Demon Counters, I send it to the Cemetery and add a Phantom Demon to my hand for each Counter."

"That means!" Kyojo realized, gasping as the monster's body changed into black smoke except for the three orbs, which floated in midair for a few seconds. Then, they shot over to Yubel's claw as streams and changed into the Three Phantom Demons' cards, which she then proceeded to place into her hand.

"Now let me show you the Godspeed Summon," Yubel stated, shifting her arm to face her three Delta Barrier cards as they all burst into flames. Within seconds they merged together into a fireball and then shot up into a stream of fire, which then snaked around and solidified into the form of the red serpent demon. Looking down at Lucciano with its glowing yellow eyes, the monster growled as it saw its next victim tremble.

"Phantom Demon number one: God Flame Emperor Uria (ATK: 3000, LV: 10)," Yubel declared before pulling another card from her hand and declaring, "I activate Magic Planter. Due to this card, I send Customs of the Imperial Court to the Cemetery and draw 2 cards." Yubel then slid the card into her Cemetery and pulled two cards, causing her monster's power to rise (ATK: 4000)."

"Next I activate the effect of Uria: Trap Incineration!" Roaring, the monster opened its mouth and shot a fireball at Lucciano's far left card, revealed as Holy Barrier – Mirror Force, and causing it to burn to ash in a second. "But I'm far from done; Permanent Magic, Triangle Force!"

"Yubel wasn't kidding when she declared a Godspeed Summon," Kyojo observed while Yubel's card appeared on her field, followed by two identical copies due to its own effect. "She's set up her second Demon's summoning already."

"I send my three Triangle Force cards to the Cemetery, and summon Phantom Demon number two: Descending Thunder Emperor Hamon (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!" With that her three cards changed into ice and shattered, changing into a crystal rosette that was struck by lightning and revealed the second monster, the dull yellow skeleton dragon, with a loud booming growl.

"Thanks to Triangle Force," Yubel stated, "I can't Normal Summon this turn; however, I do still have summons left. I activate a Magic Card: Class Changer. With this, I select a monster in Deck and send it to the Cemetery. In return, its level goes to an opposing monster. Thus, I give Skiel the Level of Yubel – Das Extremer Traurig Drachen (LV: 12)." Sneering, Yubel placed the card into the Cemetery and watched as Lucciano's monster increased its level to the max.

"Next, I activate Blood Note!" Yubel declared. "Since your monster is Level 12, I gain 3 Blood Tokens [(ATK: 0, LV: 1)x3]." All of a sudden three monsters made out of a congealed red liquid formed themselves in front of Yubel's towering monsters, causing Lucciano to gasp in shock. "Now I sacrifice these Tokens and call out my last monster: Phantom Demon Emperor Ravel (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!"

As soon as she said this, Yubel placed the navy-bordered card into the tray, creating a storm of blue sparks on her Duel Disc and from the ground. Between the two existing Demons then appeared a blue column of energy which erupted fro the ground like a geyser, spawning the massive roaring form of the blue and purple-bodied demon with chiselled form, long wings and tail, and horn-like headdress.

"All three Demons in a single turn?" Lucciano suddenly blurted in terror, the combined presence of the Three Demons kicking up massive winds within the alleys and rustling the hair of every single human in the region, as well as Yubel's. Staring back darkly, Yubel was smiling as her monsters growled out demonically, eying Lucciano's monsters hungrily.

"I activate the effect of Uria, Lord of Searing Flames!" Yubel declared, pointing at Lucciano's far right set card. "Trap Incineration!" With a dark screech the red serpent threw a fireball at the card with its jaws, burning it to ash in a second. After this all the winds died down and Lucciano was able to get a solid footing, her remaining cards all leaving her with mixed feelings of security.

"Your mistake was believing that you would be able to defeat the Mistress of the Darkness of Justice," Yubel declared accusingly, pointing at Lucciano with her clawed talon. "Such hubris will cost you in the long run, assuming your survive this next move!"

"You're bluffing!" Lucciano retorted, attempting and failing to sound equally as strong. "You can only use Uria's effect once per turn, and I still have set cards on my field after that!"

"But none of those cards can save you now!" Yubel shouted, taking a card from her hand and putting it into play. "I activate the Instant Magic, Turn Jump! With this card, I may change the current Phase of the turn to the start of my corresponding Phase a random number of turns later!"

As Yubel sneered, the entire atmosphere surrounding the duel warped like a desert mirage, only stopping after about thirty seconds and leaving Yubel ready to respond. "I play my Magic Card, Cold Wave!" Watching in horror, Lucciano saw all of her set cards become covered in a layer of frost; the she looked back up and saw the three powerful demons staring down upon her, eager to feed.

"Disappear into your own Darkness," Yubel hissed. "Uria, attack Machine Emperor Skiel! Hyperblaze!" Rearing back its head, the red serpent shot a huge blast of flames straight at the Infinity symbol of the opposing machine monster, which deflected the flames onto Lucciano and made her scream out in pain.

"Finish this, Ravel! Nightmare Scathe!" Rearing back, the tall blue and purple demon turned its right talons a glowing white colour and shoved them straight into the Infinity Symbol of the machine dragon, creating a huge explosion which consumed Lucciano and finally resulted in the explosion of the monster.

Yubel: LP 3250

Lucciano: LP 0

When the Three Demons had finished with their attacks, each one of them dissolved into fog of their own colour and black, dispersing quickly and leaving no evidence. Opposite her, Lucciano's Infinity Patch over her left eye suddenly began to crack and eventually shattered, causing her blue aura to leap off of her and disappear. With that Lucciano fell forward onto her knees and then collapsed on her face, her Duel Disc falling off.

Before any of the crew could begin congratulating, though, the sound of clapping was heard from a fire escape on one of the nearby buildings, causing everyone to suddenly look up. Everyone then scowled when they saw Placido standing there, his own Infinity Symbol glowing its string green and revealing his face to the gang for the first time. The malice look on his face stood in defiance of the tone he had used previous, and his red eye stared at the group with a determined glare.

"I must hand it to you," he finally said to Yubel, pointing at her. "I never thought you would have been able to defeat an Infinity Series, even with the power of the Three Demons. However, you victory here has done nothing to settle my plans." Before anyone had the chance to respond, he waved his hand in a sweeping motion and the cards from Lucciano's Deck all glowed green, shooting out of the Deck and into Placido's hand.

"What do you mean?" Jack inquired hostilely. "One of your allies has just fallen in battle, and you think it matters not? Do you intend to recover her, even if Infinity has left her?"

"She can rot in Hell for all I care now," was the incredibly cold and uncaring reply, shocking everyone to the bone instantly. "What matters is that now, I have everything I need to secure the greatest power source in existence!" Placido then answered everyone's unasked question by pointing his hand at Sherry's body, causing the Z-ONE card to shoot up into his grasp and show itself.

"Hey, what in tarnation to you think you're doing?" Kyojo barked. "We had a deal! We won, so you don't get to just take our cards Willy-Nilly! Give that sucker back!"

"The deal you reached was with Lucciano, not with me. And now that she is gone, I am free to do as I please!" Holding up the card, a white beacon of light was created from the card that completely consumed the man, blinding everyone instantly as the light consumed the whole alleyway. By the time it had passed, Placido had vanished and all others had passed out on their backs.

Approximately 15 years earlier (or, as perceived by the alternate timeline, 27), it had been a bright, sunny day which for everyone in Domino City had been a cause for cheer. It was the opening day of the Kaiba Corporation's Battle City V2, a Tournament which gave everyone the chance to duel the Duel King himself.

Standing in the centre of Domino Square, in front of a clock that read 12:00 pm, the Duel King himself, Mutou Yugi, stood with his Duel Disc on his arm and his Deck in his hand, smiling at the man standing opposite him. Replying was his opponent, none other than his best friend Katsuya Jonouchi picked up his Deck and placed it in his Duel Disc's Deck slot.

"You ready for a white-knuckle duel, Yugi?" Jonouchi then asked confidently, his Duel Disc's blade coming together in front of his Deck and folding around to the side. Opposite him, Yugi nodded and also inserted his Deck into his Duel Disc, making its blade to the same and causing both players to draw five cards from their Decks.

"What say I take the first try?" Jonouchi then asked, reaching for his Deck and grabbing onto a card. Just as he was about to snap it up, though, a strong white light burst out behind Jonouchi that forced Yugi to cover his eyes with his Duel Disc and Jonouchi to have a predictable nervous over-reaction.

"What the hell is going on?" one of Yugi's other friends Honda Hiroto asked, also covering his eyes with his arm as Mazaki Anzu did the same. Both people then were completely surprised when they saw the light die down and a white-robed figure appear behind Jonouchi, his face hidden by shadow except for the glowing green Infinity symbol glowing out.

"Jou! Watch out!" Yugi yelled, giving Jonouchi enough time to spin around before the white-robed figure grabbed him by the collar and picked him up, throwing him into a nearby bench and making Anzu and Honda run to him.

"Are you alright?" Anzu then yelled to her friend in worry. In reply, Jou managed to pull himself up to his feet off the arm of the bench, which allowed him to see the man better. The man had on his arm a strange-looking Duel Disc with a similar Infinity Symbol on it to his eyepatch; hen, he shifted his face slightly and revealed his red left eye with a scar underneath and black bangs.

"Mutou Yugi, King of Duellists," the figure said to Yugi in his monotone voice, "My name is Placido and I have come to you because of a threat to our very existence which will destroy us all unless you help me. I am afraid that I cannot accept any refusal; the stakes are simply too high."

"Why would I bother helping you out?" Yugi asked forcefully. "If you cared so much, you would not have thrown Jou aside so rudely just to tell me that. What's your real angle?"

"If you don't trust my word, why don't you ask the Legendary Nameless Pharaoh whose spirit dwells within your Millennium Puzzle?" This question got an incredibly shocked reaction from all three of Yugi's friends, as well as a stern look from Yugi himself. Beside him then appeared the spirit form of his taller, more serious-looking counterpart, who also bore a dark expression.

"I don't know what you think you know," Yugi confronted of Placido as his Puzzle's Wdjat eye began to glow with golden light. Before he could say anything else, the eye also appeared on his forehead and the light completely consumed him; then, when it died down, he had been replaced by the taller Pharaoh, who then completed his sentence. "What I do know is that we need more than your word to follow. Prove to me that you are trustworthy!"

"How can I do anything less for the Great Pharaoh of Egypt, master of the Legendary Gods?" Placido asked, his Duel Disc's tray extending out and his Life Point meter activating. "Then I will Duel you, and if you find me trustworthy we will get down to business."

"Then let's go, Placido!" the Pharaoh challenged, prompting Placido to draw a full hand of five cards and look down at them. The Pharaoh then did the same with his own hand, and so both players yelled,

"DUEL!"

Yugi/Pharaoh: LP 4000

Placido: LP 4000

"As the challenger, I allot the first turn to you My Pharaoh," Placido insisted, pointing at the man opposite him with what appeared to be an insincere smile.

"Then I draw," the Pharaoh yelled, reaching for his Deck and snapping up a card right away. "I Summon Retrained Elvin Swordsman (DEF: 1200, LV: 4)!" Placing the card onto the tray, his Duel Disc's blade glowed a rainbow pattern and the card appeared horizontally. Then, the form of a Medieval-looking warrior with a cape, sword and green helmet appeared, taking up a crouching pose.

"Next, I shall place one card face-down and end my turn," he added, creating a reversed card before himself and pointing at Placido. "Now, show me your cards."

"By all means," was Placido's submissive reply, pulling a card from his Deck. He then sneered and extended his Field Magic Zone and placed a card on it, saying, "I activate the Field Magic Card, Z-ONE!" When the card was placed down, the Zone closed and the Duel Disc produced a white glow that consumed the field, shutting the Pharaoh out from his friends. When the glow was gone, both Placido and the Pharaoh had disappeared, leaving his friends dumbfounded.

Looking at the screen of his computer, Paradox saw a huge power surge at the top of the Momentum's Duel Platform, which to him meant that the plan had moved forward. Up at the top of this structure, the Pharaoh and Placido were surrounded by a field of white fog that just barely made their position visible, which created an angry expression in him.

"What is the meaning of this?" he then asked scathingly. "You told me that the future was in peril, not that you would be taking me away from my friends for this destruction!"

"But you see, My Pharaoh," Placido responded politely, "The only way to truly make you believe is to show you for yourself. I will return you after this duel, if that is what you so request; but should you lose, you will be trapped here until someone else finds you the way back."

"But what about my friends?" he then asked. "They'll be completely distraught."

"The past is not moving forward in time," Placido answered "For that day, time is frozen and cannot go anywhere. When I return you, it will be as though none of it happened; but that is only if you can defeat me."

"Very well; but know this, it is not simply me with whom you must contend!" Pointing his left hand at Placido aggressively, the Pharaoh then ordered, "Now continue with your turn, so I can show you the true power I possess."

"_I am fully aware of this Pharaoh,"_ Placido then though confidently. _"Your Egyptian Gods will no doubt appear very soon; and when they do, they will charge this arena with then energy we need. All you need to do is produce enough fighting spirit and determination to summon them."_

"To Continue with my turn, I Summon Wise Core (ATK: 0, LV: 1)," Placido stated, holding up his card and producing the egg-like white metal object. The Pharaoh then looked on at this card in shock, not knowing of its existence and being even more confused when it became encased in a green aura and its metal shell began to crumble.

"What's happening Placido?" the Pharaoh asked of a smug-looking Placido, who had closed his eye. Cluing in, the Pharaoh snarled and yelled, "This is the effect of your Field Card, isn't it?"

"Indeed it is," Placido explained. "Due to Z-ONE, I may destroy any Core Monster I Summon. And then, the best part can occur." When the entire shell of the monster was gone, all that remained was the green glowing sphere at its core, which floated up and down for a few seconds before it erupted vertically into a column of green light.

"_That Core… it must have some kind of effect that activates,"_ the Pharaoh then thought in surprise, looking up and seeing the silhouette of a monster inside the aura, _"…when destroyed."_

"When Wise Core is destroyed by a card effect," Placido explained, "I Special Summon Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity (ATK: 0, LV: 1), Wisel Top (DEF: 0, LV: 1), Wisel Attack (DEF: 0, LV: 1), Wisel Guard (DEF: 1200, LV: 1) and Wisel Carrier (DEF: 600, LV: 1) from my Deck!"

"Five Monsters at once!" The Pharaoh's confusion was only added to when he saw the creature appear from its green glow. A similarly-white metal monster, with a shield on its right arm and a blade its left, leg-like structures with boosters on them, and a cobra-like head with a glowing face (ATK: 2500, LV: 1). "And yet…they're treated as a single monster."

"Wisel Infinity absorbs the power of its other pieces," Placido explained, "but it also prevents them from attacking; so you are correct, it essentially works as a single unit." Reaching into his hand, he pulled out a new card and stated, "I activate the Instant Magic, After-Effect of Impact. Due to this, until the End Phase, one Machine-Type Monster I control inflicts Penetration Damage."

"This isn't good," the Pharaoh realized as the bladed left arm of the creature shot straight at his warrior. Though his smaller creature managed to hold back the assault with its sword, he knew that his own Life Points would not fare so well.

Yugi/Pharaoh: LP 2700

Placido: LP 4000

"Due to its own effect," the Pharaoh then explained, "a Monster with 1900 or more ATK cannot destroy Retrained Elvin Swordsman in battle."

"Then I shall place one card face-down and end my turn," Placido responded, looking rather pleased with his efforts. _"But that's far from the end; his ext move will shock us to the core."_

"I draw!" the Pharaoh declared, reaching for his Deck and gripping the top card. When he did, he felt a sudden surge of energy that he knew only as one thing; and when he saw the card, his suspicions were confirmed. Also sensing this, Yugi appeared beside him in spirit form and smiled at the draw, just as the Pharaoh was doing.

"I activate the Magic Card, Bonds of Kinsmen," the Pharaoh declared. "Now, in return for 1000 Life Points, I Special Summon from my Deck in Defence Position: Big Shield Gardna (DEF: 2600, LV: 4) and Queen's Knight (DEF: 1600, LV: 4)!" As he said this, the Pharaoh fanned through his Deck and grabbed the cards he had called, placing them onto the tray.

Yugi/Pharaoh: LP 1700

Placido: LP 4000

First to appear was a muscular warrior with black hair, red eyes and drab clothes who appeared behind a shield the size of his own body. Second appeared a red-clad female warrior covered in various diamonds, clubs, hearts and spades, holding a sword and shield and wearing a pointed hat.

"Next, I sacrifice all three of my monsters," the Pharaoh declared, causing each and ever one of them to disappear as vertical columns of energy. "Now, I use their power and call forth an ancient creature of unparalleled power. Rise, my Mighty Egyptian God, the Giant God Soldier of the Obelisk (ATK: 4000, LV: 1)!" With that the Pharaoh placed the card onto the tray, creating a huge shower of sparks and a massive spike in energy.

Then, a low, guttural growl began to echo out from nowhere as the points of three massive horns began to jut out from the ground, rising. These were soon shown as the headdress of a massive blue human-like monster with red eyes and exposed teeth, with horns on the sides of its head and a spiked chin.

Next came its main body, with padded shoulders each bearing 2 spikes, a pair of thin polygonal wings, and a highly muscular body with chiselled features. By the time the creature had finished rising, it was only visibly above its knees and yet it towered over Placido's monster, completely engulfing his side with its shadow.

"You may be more powerful than some of my creatures," the Pharaoh challenged, "but this is one beast you will not trump. Go, God Hand Crusher!" Raising its spiked hand, the giant god swung its fist straight at the smaller machine monster; this creature put up its left arm and blocked the blow, deflecting it but still costing Placido Life Points.

Yugi/Pharaoh: LP 1700

Placido: LP 3500

"Sorry Pharaoh," Placido responded, "but my Wisel Guard is able to intercept any attack on a Wisel Monster; and next, due to Z-ONE's own effect, I pay 500 Life Points to negate the destruction, by battle or card effect, of a Wisel Monster I control."

"You can protect your monster is you wish; I'll simply chisel away your Life Points with my God," the Pharaoh stated, grabbing two cards in his hand and throwing the fame-down. "I end my turn."

"Then allow me!" Placido responded, drawing a card and turning it around instantly. "I activate Wise Wave, and I evolve my Wisel Parts to Wisel Top 3 (DEF: 100, LV: 3), Wisel Attack 3 (DEF: 100, LV: 3), Wisel Guard 3 (DEF: 2000, LV: 3) and Wisel Carrier 3 (DEF: 600, LV: 3)!"

With a quickly flash of green light, the limbs and head of the machine monster were all suddenly changed. Its head became a larger, more rounded object with more red lines and a platen neck; its bladed arm changed to one with axe blades and a sword; its arm changed to a thicker one with a bigger shield, and its legs became longer and jointed.

"Next, I activate the third effect of Z-ONE," Placido added, pointing at the Pharaoh's Deck. "I skip my Battle Phase, and I return I send one card to your Cemetery for each Wisel I control." Growling, the Pharaoh took the five top cards of his Deck and threw them away; to Placido's surprise, though, a dark red and light blue demon suddenly appeared behind his monster, gripping its torso.

"One of the cards you sent to the Cemetery was my Gilfer Daemon," the Pharaoh explained. "With that card sent to the Cemetery, I equip it to a monster on the field and lower its power by 500; I choose Wisel Infinity (ATK: 3000, LV: 1)."

"I end my turn," Placido said calmly. "Let's see what you do this turn."

"Very well, I draw." When he pulled his card, he looked at the one in his hand and grabbed it, placing it face-down. "I set one card, and then I Summon Gale Dark Knight Gaia (ATK: 2300, LV: 7)!" With that a dark-coloured knight holding two red lances and sitting atop a purple horse appeared beside him, its mount neighing viciously. "Now, I attack Wisel Attack 3 with Gaia!"

"I activate the effect of my Wisel Guard 3!" Placido declared. "Once per turn, I negate an attack on a Wisel Monster!" Instead of jumping as they had been hold, the warrior and his horse simply stayed where they were, awaiting another command.

"Then I attack your Wisel Infinity with my Obelisk! God Hand Crusher!" Raising his hand, the Pharaoh ordered his gigantic monster to strike; and so it swung its giant fist straight into the Infinity Symbol on the monster's chest, creating a massive shockwave that struck Placido. Though it did nothing to the monster, his Life Points fell dramatically with this latest assault.

Yugi/Pharaoh: LP 1700

Placido: LP 2000

"Eve if you can save your monster," the Pharaoh realized, "you will still take damage with that card. I end my turn."

"Then I draw," Placido declared, not even looking at his card. "And I attack you Gaia with Wisel Infinity!" the robot monster then raised its left arm and shot straight at the horse and rider; and in reply to this, the Pharaoh flipped up a card.

"I activate my Trap Card, Ground Erosion!" the Pharaoh declared, revealing the card he had just recently set. "For each turn this card was face-down, my opponent's monster loses 500 ATK. Therefore, Wisel's power drops to 2500!" With the monster weakened, the Pharaoh and his monster took a lesser blow than they would have; then, the Pharaoh flipped another card.

"I activate Bond of Soul," he added. "When a Monster is destroyed by battle, I pay 1000 Life Points to Summon one Level 4 Monster from my Deck. Come, Black Forest Witch (DEF: 1200, LV: 4)." To the Pharaoh's right then appeared a black-robed female with long hair and an eye-like gem on her forehead, which Placido knew to be trouble for him.

Yugi/Pharaoh: LP 500

Placido: LP 2000

"I set one card and end my turn," Placido then said unhappily. _"If he draws what I think he will, this duel looks very bad for me indeed."_

"I draw!" Looking at his card for all of a split second, the Pharaoh revealed it and said, "I activate Treasures of Heaven, so we both draw until we hold 6 cards in our hands!" With this card the Pharaoh reached for his Deck and pulled 6 cards, feeling yet another energy surge as he did; then, opposite him, Placido pulled 4 cards of his own.

"Now I activate my Trap Card from turn one," the Pharaoh declared. "I activate Summoning Clock! By sacrificing one of my monsters, I Special Summon one monster from my Deck for every turn this card was set. I sacrifice my Witch!" In a flash of energy, his monster disappeared and created a huge vortex, through which the glowing eyes of creature could be seen.

"Every monster I summon must have fewer points than the monster I sacrificed," the Pharaoh explained, "but that's now hard. I Summon Critter (ATK: 1000, LV: 3), Holy Elf (ATK: 800, LV: 4) and Catapult Turtle (ATK: 1000, LV: 5)!" Once by one then appeared a small furry creature with three eyes and long green arms, a blue-skinned female in a green-yellow dress, and a mechanical-looking turtle with a launcher on its back.

"Due to my Witch's effect," the Pharaoh declared, "I add a monster with 150 or fewer Defence Strength from my Deck to my hand; and my choice is King's Knight." When he had shown the card and placed it in his hand, he grabbed another one and said, "Next I shall sacrifice all Three of my Monsters!"

"_Another Egyptian God,"_ Placido realized, looking on as all three summoned monsters also disappeared into light.

"Come forth, The Sky Dragon of Osiris (ATK: X000, LV: 10)!" The Pharaoh then held his card to the sky and dark clouds began to swirl above his head, Lightning striking behind him. After one particular bolt the form of a seemingly endless red dragon with a white and black striped underbelly, spikes down its back, two-clawed wings and two mouths on its long head appeared from this, snarling at Placido and kicking up winds.

"Because I sacrificed Critter," the Pharaoh then added, "I add Kuriboh from my Deck to my hand. Next, the power of Osiris becomes 1000 for every card in my hand; and as of right now, I have 7 cards in my hand (ATK: 7000)." As he held up the card and added it to his hand, the Pharaoh shifted his right hand out fully while his Dragon let out an eagle-like screech over his head.

"My Pharaoh, it is the dream of any Duellist to experience the power of the Three Phantom Gods," Placido quibbled, looking at the Pharaoh with a certain look. "Few even have the honour to see one; and now, you have given me the opportunity to see two of them. I feel honoured."

"If you had wanted to see my Gods to badly," the Pharaoh countered, "then all you needed to do was challenge me! There was no need for this folly!"

"Still refusing to believe, are we?" Placido questioned musingly, his expression changing to a sneering glare. "You will learn the truth in time."

"You'll tell me the truth soon enough," the Pharaoh shot back, growing more and more irritated. "No more beating about the bush, just the straight-out truth!" Pointing at Placido's monsters, he then added, "Battle! Obelisk, attack his Wisel Top! God Hand Crusher!"

"I activate the effect of Wisel Guard 3," Placido countered, snapping his fingers and causing the blue monster not to even move. "And with that, your God's attack is sealed."

"That maybe," the Pharaoh yelled, "but I refuse to end things there! Battle! Osiris, attack Machine Emperor Wisel! Thunder Force!" Growling with great might, the red dragon began to build a golden-yellow ball of energy in its jaws that was sparking with electricity. In a few seconds, this blast shot straight at the Infinity monster; but with a dark sneer, Placido waved his arm and flipped a card.

"Instant Magic Open: Limiter Removal! I double the ATK of every Machine I control (ATK: 5000) (ATK: 3200) (ATK: 2200) (ATK: 2800) (ATK: 0)! But there's more; because my Parts increased in power, Wisel inherits another 3500 points on top of its doubled strength (ATK: 8500)!"

"What?" The Pharaoh looked on while the monster on Placido's field began to glow with an intense green aura; then, its Infinity Symbol fired a shot of energy back up and locked with the God Dragon's, causing the latter to began retracting to its monster.

"Your monster's power is useless Pharaoh," Placido sneered. "This duel will end in my victory. What the likes of Kaiba Seto and Malik Ishtar could not do, I have now done; I have dethroned the Duel King!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself!" the Pharaoh countered, pulling out a card from his hand. "Instant Magic: Treasure of Sacrifice! I select a monster I control, and draw one card for each Sacrifice it took to Sacrifice Summon it! Both of my Gods required three sacrifices, and that brings my hand to 9 cards (ATK: 9000)!"

"What?" Placido then spat, realizing how badly his plan was failing. The golden shot from the dragon then pushed back against the green blast, shooting with ease straight into the monster; and even though it stood, Placido received a massive blast from the monster and his Life fell.

Yugi/Pharaoh: LP 500

Placido: LP 1000

"Your monster has survived the power of the Gods," the Pharaoh observed. "That is impressive; however, your Life Points have been eroded. Soon you will have none left. In my Main Phase 2, I activate the Magic Card Shallow Grave! Both players may now Special Summon a monster from the Cemetery! Be reborn, Queen's Knight (DEF: 1600, LV: 4)!"

On the right side of the Pharaoh then re-emerged the crouching form of the female red-armoured knight, sword crossed over shield and card underneath. "I now set 2 cards, leaving my hand at the 6-card Limit (ATK: 6000). As such, I declare the end of my turn."

"Then in the End Phase," Placido declared, "I pay 500 Life Points to negate Limiter Removal's destruction effect. Then, its power wears off (ATK: 2500)." As he said these words, the green aura around his monster disappeared and his Life Points fell a little bit more.

Yugi/Pharaoh: LP 500

Placido: LP 500

"With that you and I are tied," the Pharaoh noted. "And since you have only 500 Life Points, you cannot activate Z-ONE's effect again to save your monster."

"Perhaps," Placido admitted, "but that no longer matters. This duel is done anyway. Draw!" Looking at his card only a few moments, he declared, "I change Wisel to Defence Position (DEF: 2800)." With that the entire robot took up a crouching position, the five horizontal cards appearing below it.

"Next, due to Z-ONE's third effect, I have you discard 5 more cards from your Deck." Growling slightly, the Pharaoh reached for his Deck and pulled 5 cards from it, inserting them into his Duel Disc. As he did so, he felt another strong presence and realized what had happened; then, he looked back at a sneering Placido with a flustered growl.

"With that I end my turn," Placido said simply, closing his eyes and folding his arms. "Come, Pharaoh; show me your power."

As he said this, Paradox was looking at the screen of the monitor with his eyes intent on the signals, observing the energy output from above. His energy censors had begun to give readings well beyond anything he had seen previous, and the ring's power was capturing so much energy that the lines on the Momentum glowed continuously.

"Very soon Placido will have forced out the Pharaoh's third, final, and more powerful God," he realized, sneering at himself as he saw his reflecting in the screen. "When that happens, the energy output will become massive, and it may be enough to complete the project. Otherwise, I may simply need to… raise the stakes."

While his thoughts continued, the growling in the back of his mind began again, this time louder, stronger and deeper than ever. The world around him faded out into his purple starry Sin World, and then he turned to face the titanic silhouette of a new dragon. Its red eyes shone down upon him as its dark growl carried in his mind, and in a few seconds a golden aura began to form around both it and him.

"There is no reason to hold back any longer," he mused, pulling out the black card from earlier. Its form was already starting to change from energy exposure; the black border had changed into a purple border, darker than a Fusion Monster's but similar; and 12 Level Stars had appeared across its top. No image or text were on it yet, but it continued to glow golden in his hand just as he and the dragon did while he stared at it.

"On the day that my entire world crumbled into its own foundation," he recalled darkly, "the darkness within my heart became a reality. My continued despair and rage continued to feed and expand it, until it was a force more powerful than myself." Looking up at the dragon silhouette, it encircled him with its massive wings and he added, "and now, the time has come to unleash it upon the world."

By the time he had thought this, his world and his dragon faded back away and he was left before the screen of his monitor, still watching the duel between Placido and the Pharaoh. "And now, let the true test commence."

**Card of the Week – Placido**

**Z-ONE**

**Field Magic Card**

**Effect:** When a player normal Summons a "Core" Monster, after that summon resolves they may destroy that monster. Once per turn, activate my skipping your Battle Phase. Send 1 card from your opponent's Deck to the Cemetery for each "Wisel", "Skiel" or "?" monster you control. If a "Wisel", "Skiel" or "?" Monster(s) would be destroyed, activate by paying 500 Life Points. That monster is not destroyed.

*The conclusion to the Battle coming soon. Review if you wish.*


	27. Signers Strike Back!

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 27 – ****Signers Strike Back! Roar of Dragon, Ryukiski Kyojo!**

As the morning arose over Neo Domino City, the people in the alleyway who had been knocked out cold by Placido suddenly began to stir, with Judai twitching his hand and Jack and Kyojo reaching for a grip. Seconds later they managed to get themselves to their feet, although they were dazed and almost unaware of their surroundings.

"Placido… that card-rustling bastard…" Kyojo cursed under his breath, putting his left hand against the wall of a building while his right hand covered his head. Opposite him, Judai and Jack were standing shakily on their feet; all three men felt drained, and only Judai could find the ability to strengthen himself through Yubel's power.

"I know he's still close by…" Judai then hissed under his breath, his eyes changing to Yubel's and allowing him to sense presence rather than allow on his blurry vision. "I can feel that card, and his power… but there's something else there as well…"

"What are you talking about?" Jack inquired, he and Kyojo finally stepping towards Sherry and Lucciano to inspect them for any sort if injuries. "What other power? Are you taking about Skiel's power; because we already know that."

"No, not a Synchro Killer," Judai clarified, his gaze shifting towards the Satellite. "It's something greater… and more ancient…" Suddenly, Judai's eyes went wide and he gasped, getting the full attention of the two taller men.

"What is it Judai?" Kyojo questioned, stepping over to his friend and tapping him on the shoulder. "What do you sense?"

"There's two powers there," he stated, "At the Old Momentum. There's no mistaking them; Obelisk and Osiris!"

"Egyptian Gods?" Jack suddenly questioned, completely stunned and glaring towards the Satellite. Sure enough he was able to see a huge tower where Momentum was, with a sphere of white fog at the top; and within that fog they could see faintly the red and blue forms of the two gods.

"Then that means… that Yugi has traveled to our time," Kyojo deduced, picking up his sunglasses and putting them back over his face. "Placido must have used that Z-ONE card to get him from the past."

"Then we have to get over there and find out what's going on!" Judai declared. Reaching over, he pulled a card from Jack's deck and revealed it as Sub-Space Matter Transfer Device. Holding it to the sky, the card glowed and a red field surrounded all five people in the alley, disappearing and leaving none of them there.

"What are you waiting for Pharaoh?" Placido asked smugly of the Legendary Duellist before him, his arms crossed while the man looked at him with a complete look of resentment and yet a stoic look of passivity. "It is your turn after all."

"Very well," the Pharaoh declared, reaching for his Deck. "But this will be the last turn of this duel! Draw!" Reaching for his Deck, he snapped up the card and swished it into the main body of his hand in one fluid motion, holding up the mitt full of cards for display. "Since I hold 7 cards again, Osiris' Attack Strength increases accordingly (ATK: 7000, LV: 10)."

Looking up upon the large red serpent dragon and the muscle-bound blue behemoth beside it, Placido's eyes held a cold glare which seemed to hide the thrill he felt. His glowing green Machine Emperor's metal body reflected the form of the Pharaoh and of Yugi's Spirit beside him, and so it showed as he reached into his hand for another card. "I activate the Magic Card, Reincarnation of the Dead!" Reaching for a card in his hand, he inserted it into the Cemetery before a different card returned to his grasp.

"And now, I Summon King's Knight (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)!" the Pharaoh then placed his returned card onto the tray and called up a mainly gold-armoured warrior with a beard, a thick build and a massive sword with rounded shield. "Due to this monster's effect, with it and Queen's Knight in play, I Special Summon Jack's Knight from my Deck (ATK: 1900, LV: 5)!"

As a card slid from the Pharaoh's Deck into his hand, he placed it onto the tray and called up yet another warrior. This one was taller and slimmer than either of the other two, with blue armour, long hair and a spade-shaped shield. "My hand is now 2 cards smaller, so Osiris' power decreases (ATK: 5000); however, these 3 creatures have given be everything I need to finish the duel!"

"3 Creatures," Placido repeated impassively, staring at the Pharaoh's Cemetery as a glowing gold aura suddenly began to emanate from it. "Then one of the cards you sent to the Cemetery is…"

"That's right," the Pharaoh responded, a confident grin crossing his face before his seriousness returned and he flipped a card. "I activate my Trap Card, Undying Class! By sacrificing Queen's and King's Knights, I Special Summon a Level 7 or higher monster from my Cemetery." All of a sudden the gold-bordered aura parted and a card shot from the Cemetery, the two mentioned monsters turning into columns of white sparks.

"Next I chain my Instant Magic, Mystic Wok!" the Pharaoh declared, pointing to his other face-down card as the golden aura spread to consume his entire form. "I sacrifice my jack's Knight, and I add its ATK to my Life Points!" Finally, the third warrior bowed and disappeared into sparks, his power channelling to his cross-armed user before the aura intensified until it blocked out everything.

By the time the light faded until everything returned, the Pharaoh's Puzzle now had its Wdjat eye glowing and the pattern also appeared on his forehead. Looking back up, Placido saw the form of a gigantic golden sphere hovering far above the heads of both existing Gods, giving off light stronger than the field around them.

At that moment a large red tear in the field around them formed and Judai, Jack and Kyojo stepped up onto the platform, their faces fixed in a bug-eyed gaze of amazement. As Placido stared on coldly in anticipation, the Pharaoh began to chant something which none of the others understood, but interpreted to be Ancient Egyptian based on the circumstances. When he stopped, the gigantic orb burst into light and flooded the field, and a strong growl began to emanate from the light.

Seconds later, from the light descended the form of a massive golden dragon, its form looking more sculpted than grown, with a blue gem on its forehead and an arc behind its neck attached to shoulder pads. Its bird-like limbs, feathered wings and neck, and long tail identified the creature immediately while it settled just above its brethren, forming a pyramid. "Behold, the Strongest Egyptian God! The Winged God Dragon of Ra (ATK: ?, LV: 10)!" the Pharaoh explained, opening his arms dramatically.

Just as it had appeared, the golden aura around the dragon began to spread and grow more intense, almost flame-like, until it started to obscure the creature's form. "When Ra is Special Summoned," the Pharaoh explained, "I may pay 1000 Life Points to erase one creature from the field, destroying it instantly!" As he finished the entire form of his dragon was encased in golden flames, making it resemble a massive phoenix before it screeched deafeningly.

"Erase that Machine Emperor!" With its final defiant roar, the dragon shot straight down and stooped into the chest of the massive machine creature, causing an explosion to occur and the shockwave making everybody stagger. In less than a second the machine monster's form shattered and Placido began to laugh maniacally; however, his voice quickly became distorted and machine-like.

"An impressive attack, my Pharaoh," Placido stated in his altered voice, staring straight at the Pharaoh with an evil sneer as his robe suddenly dissolved off him like pixels being removed. "With Wisel banished from the field, I have no protection from your Egyptian Gods. The duel is yours. But know this…" Before he could complete the statement, however, his entire body dissolved the same way his robe had and the three creatures behind the Pharaoh disappeared, leaving the four people standing around in the white field.

"Another one of those 'X' drones," Judai spat, remembering the experiences everyone had with the aforementioned being. Suddenly, a sound caught everyone's attention and they turned to a corner of the field, seeing something which nobody expected and which everyone was shocked to behold.

Floating just above the ground, its side to the group, everyone saw a comma-shaped machine with red rib-like structures over a white main body, lines along its form glowing red. A circular section along its side then lit up like an eye and fixed upon them, causing deep, indistinct mechanical voices to start echoing from everywhere and saying things which nobody could make out. "Remember… you time is short…."

"What does that mean?" Jack barked his demand at the structure but got no verbal response. Instead, the entire smoky white field turned into a solid red glow that blinded everyone and made a strange sonic sound, deafening them. With screams every single member of the group disappeared and the light vanished, leaving no proof that anything hap ever taken place atop the tower.

Meanwhile, in the darkness below, Paradox's vision was suddenly interrupted when the yellow aura around him disappeared and his body was consumed by red electricity. Growling out in pain, the large man collapsed to the floor on his knees and grimaced, the blank card in his hand falling to the floor. The attack lasted no longer than a few seconds, and when it was done Paradox opened his eyes in anger and stood up.

"Placido!" he yelled in total frustration, smashing his closed fists into the control panel. However, his anger subsided when he looked at the censors and saw that the Momentum's power levels were almost at maximum. Then, his facial expression changed to a dark smile and he looked down at his card, seeing the text of the card starting to materialized. At the moment, it simply said it was Level 12 and a Fusion Monster; but Paradox could sense that its power was already growing.

"Interesting… then I guess this venture wasn't such a waste after all…"

Crowded around the Domino City clock where they had been, Anzu, Jonouchi and Honda were shocked when they heard a strange sound like nothing they had heard before. Spinning around on their feet, they saw the Pharaoh laying on the ground behind them on his back, eyes open in a wondrous gaze as he sat up and got to his feet.

"Hey, Yugi," Jonouchi asked suddenly, he and the other running to his side. "What the hell was that all about, and who was that guy?"

Instead of answering their question, the Pharaoh confounded them more when he simply said to himself, "What was… that thing…?"

Sitting in his office atop the Public Security Maintenance Bureau Building, Placido gained a dark smile over his face and held up his hand, watching as the Z-ONE card materialized into his hand. As it did, the Infinity Symbol on his eye patch glowed red and he slumped forward; as this occurred, the card disappeared and the glow faded out.

In the alleyway beside the construction site, Judai, Jack and Kyojo all picked themselves up from their face-down laying position and got to their feet, looking around and seeing that they had been sent back. "You know," Kyojo said to no one in particular, "I'm getting real tired of waking up unconscious."

"Aren't we all?" Jack asked, grabbing his head like he had a serious migraine. "What the hell was that all about?"

"That's for us to know, and you to find out," a voice suddenly asked, getting the attention of everyone and prompting them to turn 180 degrees. Standing against a building, leaning against a black D-Wheel, a man in a white and grey riding suit stood standing there with a smug look on his face.

"And just who the hell are you?" Judai asked, his snarling face mirrored by both of his cohorts.

"Ah yes, where are my manners?" the man pondered rhetorically. "My name is Alessandro."

"A Spanish name, dressed in white…" Kyojo said under his breath, before looking straight at the guy. The man's hair was straight jet black, with sharp bangs and a short ponytail down to his shoulders. His skin was reasonably tanned, his eyes green, and he had a pair of green gems over his eyes. "Let me guess, you're with Yliaster."

"That would be correct, Ryukishi Kyojo," Alessandro said confidently. "I was here to collect the Z-ONE card; but seeing as that's taken care of, I'll settle for being damage cleanup." Getting on his ride and starting the engine, he pulled a dark blue visor over his face and declared, "Shall we dance?"

"Sounds like a plan," Kyojo responded straight away, snapping his fingers. Within three seconds his D-Wheel pulled up beside him and he got on the back of it, pulling on his helmet and placing his Duel Disc on the console. Instantly the tray folded out into Riding Mode and the Deck spat out five cards, which he pulled into his side gauntlet.

"Are you sure about this?" Jack asked, him and Judai looking both concerned and annoyed. "If this guy's with Yliaster, the damage is for real; and if he's with Placido, it's that much worse."

"I'll be fine," Kyojo responded confidently. "You two should tag along; I can't wait to pick off another Yliaster member."

"Put your money where your mouth is, Ryukishi," Alessandro stated. With that both he and Kyojo pulled forward to be level and they activated their Riding Modes, making Speed World 2 appear briefly on the screen. Then, an Infinity symbol briefly appeared surrounding both vehicles and faded out, and in seconds both of them shot off.

"Let's go," Judai said, Jack nodding and both of them running for their D-Wheels. Ahead of them, Alessandro took pole position and Kyojo reached for his deck to pull a card.

"I'll start this Riding Duel off by activating my Speed Spell – Over Boost," Kyojo declared, flipping the card around and causing two boosters on the back of his D-Wheel to fire up. All of a sudden he shot out in front of Alessandro and yelled back, "Due to this card, I have 4 extra Speed Counters for this turn (Kyojo: 4 SPC/Alessandro: 0 SPC)!"

"I'm quite aware of how your card works," Alessandro yelled up. "I also know that those Speed Counters will be reduced to one in this End Phase, so make it count."

"You can bet I will," Kyojo stated. "I Summon Axe Dragonute (ATK: 2000, LV: 4)!" From the blue vortex that appeared came a black human-shaped dragon with a blunt face and a large battle axe in its hands. The creature then turned around and roared at Alessandro, making him stare back with a look of amusement."

"Next I activate the Speed Spell – Slip Shot!" Kyojo shouted, his Deck shooting out two cards instantly. "With my Speed Counters at 4, I Special Summon 2 more copies of a Level 4 Monster from my Deck and skip my Battle Phase. Come, two Axe Dragonutes (ATK: 1200, LV: 4) (DEF: 1200, LV: 4)."

Kyojo then slapped the two cards onto the tray on either side of the existing one, causing blue crouching versions of his existing dragon to appear on either side of it and also face Alessandro, their axes crossed like a shield. "Next, I set 3 cards. During the End Phase, as you observed, I lose all but one of my Speed Counters."

"Then I draw (Kyojo: 2 SPC/Alessandro: 1 SPC)," Alessandro stated, pulling his card and taking a quick look at it before holding it up. "I activate the Speed Spell – Count Up, and by discarding one card I increase by Speed Counters by 2." He then took a card from his hand and slid it into the Cemetery, and instantly his D-Wheel accelerated to again overtake Kyojo (Kyojo: 2 SPC/Alessandro: 3 SPC).

"Next I activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton," he said swiftly, pulling a pair of cards in one motion. Upon seeing the two cards he sneered darkly and grabbed a card already in his hand, throwing it into the Cemetery. "Prepare yourself, Ryukishi Kyojo, for a truly tormenting duel."

A few feet behind Kyojo, Jack and Judai appeared on their own vehicles and hung back, observing both sides of the field. All three people besides Alessandro were all looking stern as he held up another card, saying, "I discard a second card and activate a second Count Up, putting my Speed Counters up more (Kyojo: 2 SPC/Alessandro: 5 SPC)."

"Why is he throwing out so many of his cards?" Jack questioned, not recognizing the strategy as anything he knew. "In a Riding Duel, keeping card advantage is just as important, if not more so, as in a Ground Duel because there aren't enough Spell Cards to make up the loss."

"I have a way around that," Alessandro answered, spinning his D-Wheel around to face all three men as he held up yet another card. "I activate Speed Spell – Summon Speeder, allowing me to Special Summon from my hand Phantom of Chaos (ATK: 0, LV: 4)!" As everyone grew even more tense, a ball of black smoke collected in front of his D-Wheel and a card slid from his Cemetery.

"By excluding an Effect Monster from my Cemetery," he added, "I have my Phantom use its effect, name and power for this turn. And one of the monsters in my Cemetery is Sky Demon God Norleras (ATK: 2400, LV: 8)." At this moment a look of terror swept over everyone's face as the smoky creature turned into a black-scale creature with tattered wings, a skull face and bone fingers, and a single ram horn jutting from its forehead.

"I activate Norleras' effect," Alessandro stated. "I pay 1000 Life Points to send all cards on the field and in both players' hand to the Cemetery; then, I draw 1 card!" As he said this, the eyes of his creature lit up red and its form exploded into blackness, shooting straight at Kyojo's cards; but before they got there, he flipped his cards.

"I activate Threatening Roar!" Kyojo yelled. "And next, I activate Dragons' Pact, and sacrifice my three Dragonutes!" In a split second all three creatures disappeared into a field of particles ad Kyojo's cards went away; then, the demon creature vanished and Alessandro drew a card.

Kyojo: LP 4000

Alessandro: LP 3000

"This is the exposed field of the Riding Duel Champion," Alessandro mused. "No cards at all. This should be interesting. I set one card. Then, in the End Phase, I activate the effect of a monster in my Cemetery."

"That's why he sent so many monsters to the Cemetery," Judai realized just as the man revealed his card.

"I never performed a Normal Summon this turn; thus, by excluding Red-Eyes Wyvern from my Cemetery, I Special Summon Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon from my Cemetery (ATK: 2800, LV: 10)!" All of a sudden a dark ball of matter formed and extended into the form of the metallic black and red segmented wyvern; then, the creature turned and roared at Kyojo, making him nervous.

"In the End Phase," Kyojo explained, holding up the card he activated earlier, "Because I sacrificed 3 Dragons for this card, I draw 3 cards!" He then returned the card to his Cemetery and pulled three cards from his Deck, one by one; then, he grabbed a fourth card and yelled, "Draw (Kyojo: 3 SPC/Alessandro: 6 SPC)!"

"So you were a very good target for my attack indeed," Alessandro observed. "You managed to get yourself out of my Norleras Combo; but even so, you're in a dead end spot due to my monster."

"_That son of a bitch is right," _Kyojo realized, looking at his hand._ "I don't have a monster in this hand right now; I'll have to gamble it on this card."_ "I activate my own Speed Spell – Angel Baton!" With that Kyojo snapped up two cards in his Deck; and realizing a combo with then, he took one already in his hand and threw it away.

"I Summon Masked Dragon (DEF: 1100, LV: 3)!" In a crouching position he called up a blue-scale version of his red and white dragon with a mask over its face, its forearms crossed and its wings folded over itself. "Now I set 2 cards and declare the end of my turn."

"Draw (Kyojo: 4 SPC/Alessandro: 7 SPC)," Alessandro then said, pulling a brand new card at that very moment and then flipping it around. "I activate the third Angel Baton of this game." Snapping up two more cards from his Deck, he took a card from among them and threw it away before reaching for his Deck again.

"I activate the effect of Speed World 2, and by removing 7 Speed Counters I draw 1 card (Kyojo: 4 SPC/Alessandro: 0 SPC)." By a second later he had his second card in his hand, and so he took a card from his hand and put it onto the tray.

"I Summon Knight of the End (ATK: 1400, LV: 4)." As he placed this card down, a dull-coloured warrior with a katana and goggles over its face emerged and swung its sword; then, he took a card and threw it away. "And since I summon this monster, I send the Dark Monster know as Dark Horus Dragon from the Deck to the Cemetery."

When he had placed the card into the Cemetery, he took the remaining card in his hand and held it up, sneering. "Next, because 3 Dark Monsters exist in my Cemetery, I call upon the Dark Armed Dragon (ATK: 2800, LV: 7)!" In a split second the monster descended upon the field; a grey and black dragon with segmented armour, many drills along its form, and a metal face that held only malice.

"That monster," Jack observed scathingly. "He's summoned a creature that can end this game."

"I activate the effect of Dark Armed Dragon," Alessandro stated. "I exclude the Dark Monster Phantom of Chaos from my Cemetery, and I destroy your pathetic monster!" As the card was thrown away, the monster took a black ball of energy and threw it into the smaller dragon, smashing it.

"Next, I exclude my Dark Grepher from my Cemetery," Alessandro added, "And I destroy your right face-down!"

"That's too bad!" Kyojo sneered, snapping his fingers. "I activate my targeted Trap Card, Common Sacrifice! With no monsters on my field and three on yours, I Special Summon a Level 7 or higher monster from my hand! I sacrifice Dark Armed and Knight of the En, and I call out my Blue-Ice White Night's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!"

"What?" the man then questioned, watching as the two monsters he had played this turn vanished into nothingness. Then, on Kyojo's field emerged the form of a blue crystalline dragon with no real face, but large wings and a long arrow-tipped tail. "I see. You managed to get the upper hand on me; but even so, you'll not win!"

"You don't know me as well as you think you do if that's your view," Kyojo responded. "If there's one thing to be known about duellists like me, it's that we don't stop fighting until the bitter end. I'll always pull through!"

"Then pull through this," Alessandro challenged. "Due to the effect of Red-Eyes Darkness Metal, I Special Summon Dark Horus Dragon from my Cemetery (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" In a flash of black flames, a black metal bird-like dragon with red eyes, large talons and a long lizard tail under a feathered tail. "Battle!"

With a loud screech, the dragon formed a stream of black flames and shot it at the blue crystal dragon, which fired back a blizzard-like shot of power. When the two strikes met in mid-air, it created an explosion whose shockwave struck and shattered both dragons. "Direct attack! Darkness Metal Flare!" Then, before Kyojo could move, the remaining dragon formed a plasma-like orb in its mouth and shot it into Kyojo's D-Wheel, blasting it up into their air and making it land with a thud.

"Kyojo!" both Jack and Judai yelled in concern, seeing their friend tossed like a rag doll. Up ahead of them Alessandro was laughing while he observed the carnage; and as Kyojo straightened out and shot forward, it was clear he and his ride had suffered damage by the constant swaying and the huge crack in his visor.

Kyojo: LP 1200

Alessandro: LP 3000

"Trap Card… Open!" Kyojo gasped out loudly, revealing one of his two cards out of nowhere. "Due to Damage Recharge, I draw 3 cards!" As he grabbed the cards from his Deck, Kyojo barely looked at them before placing them in his hand tray; then, he started gasping for breath and Alessandro spun back around, shooting forward.

"Struggling is futile," Alessandro quibbled. "Fighting against the Infinity is a waste of everyone's time, especially when the real enemy is still a threat to both."

"Who exactly are you?" Judai suddenly questioned, causing Alessandro to glare hostilely. Then, he closed his eyes and spoke back.

"Yliaster is responsible for the awakening of the Signers," he said, seemingly unrelated. "They are also the ones who have devoted themselves to fighting the destruction of the future. Placido, Jose and Lucciano offered me salvation after the destruction of my village at the hands of the Dark Signers, and now I serve them in their quest."

"Destruction of your village?" Jack questioned. "You're from the same village as Bommer was!"

"Exactly."

"Then why are you fighting us?" Judai questioned. "If there truly is a common enemy, then we should be working towards defeating it."

"Because the Signers are blind in their hubris," Alessandro said insultingly. "They refuse to see the truth because they don't care what it is. They are the foot soldiers of the Crimson Dragon, and so they fight anyone who does not conform to them."

"And you're basing this cynical view on what?" Jack asked, his face growing more and more irate.

"On the fact that you even fought against each other out of anger, avarice and jealousy. On the fact that you destroyed Rex Godwin, who was your guide and whose side you were already on. Or perhaps on the fact that the greater threat is one of you!"

"What?" Judai and Kyojo asked in unison, growing incredibly shocked while Jack continued to growl in anger.

"It's true," Alessandro ensured them. "The greatest threat that humanity faces is a Signer, one who will not stop their goal until all humanity dies out."

"I don't know how true this is," Kyojo declared, "but I do know that this duel is still on, so call your next card!"

"My hand is empty and my monsters have all attacked," Alessandro replied. "Thus, I end my turn."

"Then I draw (Kyojo: 5 SPC/Alessandro: 1 SPC)," Kyojo yelled, snapping up yet another card from his Deck. "I activate the Speed Spell – Speed Rebirth! When my SPC is 4 or more, I Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Monster from my Cemetery in Defence Position. Return, Axe Dragonute (DEF: 1200, LV: 4)!" Out from the Cemetery slid the card and Kyojo placed it sideways, bringing back one of the crouching blue dragons form the first turn of the game.

"Next, I Summon Delta Fly (ATK: 1500, LV: 3)!" With this new card down, Kyojo summoned up a gold-plated dragon whose legs extended down from its wings and who had a hook its nose. "Once per turn, Delta Fly can increase the Level of another monster I control by 1, and thus Axe Dragonute gets a higher level (LV: 5)!"

"He's set up the conditions for a Level 8 Synchro Monster already," Judai observed. "We know where this will lead."

"I tune my Level 3 Delta Fly to my now Level 5 Axe Dragonute!" Jumping up into the air, the newer dragon turned into 3 white orbs in triangle formation that then became green rings. The other dragon then jumped up and the rings surrounded it, turning it into 5 orbs and creating a column of light.

"From the blackness of hell, there will now appear a new wicked spirit," Kyojo chanted. "May death claim those who stand against justice! Synchro Summon! Devour, Dark End Dragon (ATK: 2600, LV: 8)!" In a blast of black smoke, a large black dragon with a face on its chest, three-clawed hand and feet, segmented armour and long thin wings appeared, growling darkly at the opposing man and opening its chest mouth slowly.

"Once in one turn, Dark End may lose 500 ATK and DEK (ATK: 2100/DEF: 1600) to send an opponent's monster to the Cemetery! Dark Fog!" With a roar, the mouth on the dragon's chest shot a blast of black fog straight at the black metal wyvern, dissolving it instantly before the mouth closed. "Direct attack! Dark Evaporation!" In a split second the moth of the dragon shot a blast of black energy at Alessandro's D-Wheel, causing the man to cringe while he swayed from side to side.

"Next, I activate the effect of my Speed World 2," Kyojo declared. "I remove 4 Speed Counters (Kyojo: 1 SPC/Alessandro: 1 SPC), and I inflict to you 800 Damage for each Speed Spell in my hand. Due to Speed Spell – The end of Storm, you take 800 point of damage!" From the console of his D-Wheel Alessandro received a very big shock, and this simply made him look angrier as all but the last of his Life Points fell away.

Kyojo: LP 1200

Kyojo: LP 100

"I set one card and end my turn," Kyojo informed, placing the last card in his hand other than his Speed Spell onto the tray.

"Draw (Kyojo: 2 SPC/Alessandro: 2 SPC)," Alessandro yelled, snapping up his hand and spinning it around. "I activate Speed Spell – Drift Draw! Since I have 2 SPC, I send one monster from my Deck to the Cemetery – in this case, Dark Horus Dragon – and I draw one card!"

After a mere split second the card he had named slid from his Deck and he grabbed it, spinning it around and inserting it into the Cemetery. Immediately after that the Deck was automatically shuffled and he reached for yet another card, grabbing it and snapping it off the Deck.

"I really must thank you, Kyojo," Alessandro said snidely to his opponent, again spinning around to confront him. "Thanks to you, I've set up the Summoning Conditions for your demise. Since I control no monsters, and have 5 DARK Monsters in my Cemetery…"

"Impossible…" Kyojo then said under his breath, knowing what was about to transpire.

"Yes… I Special Summon the Dark Creator (DEF: 3000, LV: 8)!" In a blast of energy black fog shot up from Alessandro's D-Wheel, solidifying into an enormous figure in a crouching position. The summoned creature had a segmented body with a small head, an arc over shoulder pads with folded wings attached, and it held a black orb between its hands.

"Once in one turn," Alessandro then declared, a card sliding from his Cemetery, "The Dark Creator allows me to exclude a DARK Monster from my Cemetery, and Special Summon a different DARK Monster in its place. By excluding Knight of the End, I resurrect Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon once again (ATK: 2800, LV: 1)!"

After he spoke, the first monster he mentioned slid from his Cemetery and he held it up, causing the card to dissolve instantly. When the second slid out, the orb between the hands of the creature released into the air and shifted into the form of the segmented metallic dragon.

"Next, I again Special Summon Dark Horus Dragon from my Cemetery (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" In a quickly flash, the black bird-dragon also returned to the field and spread its wings, creating a look of nervousness for Kyojo that was shared by his friends.

"This is bad for us," Judai growled. "If Kyojo should lose here, one of our best fighters will be down and we won't be able to fight with everything we have."

"Welcome to the end of the duel, Ryukishi Kyojo, as well as your reign! Dark Horus Dragon, attack Dark End Dragon!" In a loud screech-like roar, the massive monster shot a blast of black flames into the body of the smaller dragon before Kyojo; then, the flames engulfed him and made him scream out, eventually making him slam his face into the console.

"You can't lose here Kyojo!" Jack shouted up to his partner. "Everything you've fought before you've pulled through! Show him!" As this was said, Kyojo looked at the situation from his vantage point and gained a serious look, turning to face everything.

"I…" Kyojo gasped, propping himself up and reaching for a card on his tray, as though preparing to activate it. "Trap… Card… Open!" As the card appeared, Alessandro gasped and he added, "Afterglow of a Miracle! I Special Summon the monster destroyed by battle! Return, Dark End (ATK: 2600, LV: 8)!" In an instant the monster returned to the field in a flash of light, growling again and leaving Kyojo one last set card with which to fight.

"Then allow me to destroy your beast again!" Alessandro yelled. "Darkness Metal Flare!" After the command his remaining dragon opened its jaws and began to form a second metallic pulse, making it larger than the last and shooting it at Kyojo. Finally, he motioned to his set card and tapped its button, making it appear.

"Trap Card Open! Dragon's Mail! When a Dragon-Type Synchro Monster is attacked, it isn't destroyed by that attack!" Growling in defiance, the dragon took the blast of its foe straight on and was dealt no damage; seconds later, however, Kyojo was shocked by energy and he screamed out again, this time reaching for his Deck.

Kyojo: LP 100

Alessandro: LP 100

"Next, I draw… one card for each Attack Position Monster the opponent controls!" In a flash he grabbed the two cards he needed and threw them into his hand; and Alessandro again spun around, his creatures turning and Kyojo's settling.

"I must praise you for your ability to hold on," he said back over his shoulder, almost mocking Kyojo. "You're a bulldog; you bite down, hold on and never let go. Sadly, your time has come. If you insist on defending the forces that lead this world to ruin, euthanasia is your only future."

"Some very choice words," Kyojo criticized, reaching for his Deck one last time. "Now it's my turn to monologue… and let come what may…"

"This is the very last round of the game," Judai realized. "Neither one of them can survive a single hit, so the first battle damage will win."

"Come on Kyojo," Jack said softly. "You can pull through this!"

"Draw (Kyojo: 3 SPC/Alessandro: 3 SPC)!" Kyojo screamed out, ripping the card from his Deck and revealing it instantly to everyone. "I play the Tuner Monster, Magna Drago (ATK: 1400, LV: 2)!" With the card down, his small red dragon with triangular head and three-clawed limbs appeared, hissing wildly at Alessandro.

"A Level 2 Tuner Monster!" Judai realized ecstatically as Kyojo silently set two cards. "He's won this game!" At this point he and Jack both smiled confidently and Alessandro donned a stunned look, realizing what would happen next.

"I Tune my Level 2 Magna Drago to my Level 8 Dark End Dragon!" Roaring loudly, his small red dragon changed into 2 white orbs as his other dragon shot into the air, stopping high above them. A second later, the white orbs caught up and drew green rings around the larger monster, turning it into 8 white orbs and then a column of light.

"The ruler of hellfire will now behold upon the earth," Kyojo chanted, "to extinguish the darkness and light the pyres of dogma! Synchro Summon! Incinerate, Trident Dragion (ATK: 3000, LV: 10)!" Out of the light exploded the ball of fire that released his giant red and beige serpent dragon, its three heads letting out demonic growls and the two card appearing before him. "I destroy my two set cards!"

Reaching down, the dragon bit into the two set cards and shattered them, causing its heads to all growl loudly. "Now I activate the Speed Spell – Speed Energy; since I have 3 SPC, Trident Dragion receives 600 extra ATK (ATK: 3600)!" In a single motion a blue aura consumed the red dragon for all of a second, increasing its power and making it roar at Alessandro angrily.

"This… No, this can't…"

"The time has come to put this little duel to bed! Trident Dragion, attack Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon! Lucifer's Firestorm!" Before there was any time to react, Kyojo's dragon opened its jaws and released three streams of fire at once, one from each other; and these rained down upon Alessandro's three monster, exploding them and second him flying off his D-Wheel 100 feet forward.

Kyojo: LP 100

Alessandro: LP 0

Breaking their D-Wheels suddenly, all three men jumped off and ran towards the fallen duellist, watching in horror as he pushed himself to a shaky stance. "Congratulations… you can defeat me in a duel… Ryukishi Kyojo… but I'm afraid your efforts are wasted…"

"Who is this other enemy you spoke of?" Jack demanded, pointing at the man while the dragon in the background faded away. "You said one of the Signers was the true threat. Tell me! Which one of us is it?"

"The true enemy of both Infinity and you… the only enemy strong enough to rip Duel Spirits from their masters and brainwash him… the only one who threatens all of time… the one who seeks the destruction of humanity… that is the Signer of Destruction!"

"Stop playing mind games with us!" Judai snapped, jumping forward and grabbing Alessandro by the collar. "If you know which of the Five Signers this person is, and you really wish to stop them, tell us!" When Alessandro simply laughed at his words, however, Judai grew more tense and yelled, "Answer me!"

"You don't get it do you…?" he taunted. "You're so busy looking for stripes that you're missing the zebra… Or do you not know that he's one of you…?"

"Who?" Kyojo yelled. "Just out with it, who are you after?" Once this had finished, Judai threw Alessandro onto his knees and the man looked back up. Then, he simply said,

"Paradox…" The reaction of total stunned silence quickly consumed the whole group, all of them taking a step back and realizing the weight of what was said. Then, in a fit of laughter, Alessandro was consumed by a field of light and he disappeared; after that, the sound of engines in the background sounded, and everybody turned.

"What… is this…?" Judai suddenly asked, only for his question to be answered seconds later. The three men were then surrounded in a swarm of Riding Roids identically to the one named Ghost, which Yusei had fought weeks before. Every one of them had their Duel Trays activated, and so the group pulled out their Decks and prepared themselves for a fight like none prior.

In Placido's office, where his unconscious body lay, the sound of the indistinct voices again sounded and red circuit lines were strewn along the walls, giving the room a very different look. Placido's body remained inert through the whole process; until that it, an explosion occurred at the door and threw his limp form against the wall, his desk pinning him there.

The voices then stopped and the lines vanished, and a second later a human form stepped into view. This person was clad in black armour with gold trim over his lower arms, legs and shoulders, with a cloak attached in addition to a purple trench coat. However, the telltale feature was the mask of Endymion his face, under his black bangs, which was now changed in size to fit the smaller human figure.

Stepping forward into the room, the figure raised his hand as he stepped closer to Placido, reaching for the eye patch. When it was within reach, however Placido's eye snapped open and a red aura formed around the figure, throwing him against the opposite wall and pinning him there. A second later the desk exploded and Placido stepped out from behind it, a dark sneer on his face.

"I was wondering when you would grace me with your presence, Lord Kenshi," he then addressed of Taiyou just before the red aura consumed his form. In no time at all his metal eye piece was changed to a white one with a red ribbed structure; and his black hair dissolved away, giving way to grey hair spiked up in sections. His new hair had a claw-like section of left bangs, no right bangs, and a slash-like section of scalp with a green gem on it.

"What the hell is this?" Taiyou asked suddenly, his eye pieces glowing yellow before the red aura faded and he dropped down. "What good does changing your form do you?"

"This is what I truly look like," Placido answered. "The façade I had maintained even to Jose and Lucciano is no longer necessary; and now, allow me to how you more than you ever thought possible…"

**Card of the Week – Kyojo**

**Dark End Dragon **

**Type:**

**Level:**

**Family(s):**

**Effect:** When a player normal Summons a "Core" Monster, after that summon resolves they may destroy that monster. Once per turn, activate my skipping your Battle Phase. Send 1 card from your opponent's Deck to the Cemetery for each "Wisel", "Skiel" or "?" monster you control. If a "Wisel", "Skiel" or "?" Monster(s) would be destroyed, activate by paying 500 Life Points. That monster is not destroyed.

**ATK/**

**DEF/ **


	28. Vs Paradox

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 28 – ****Vs Paradox! Dragons Battle Royal, Sins vs. Blackfeather**

Shooting across the Daedalus Bridge, Judai, Kyojo and Jack were being pursued by waves of the 'Ghost' Riding Roid, attempting to defeat all of them in duels so as to cement an escape. Reaching for his Deck, Jack grabbed a card and threw it onto the tray. "I Summon Mad Daemon (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)!" In an instant he called up an almost-skeletal being whose face was hidden within a dark recess, framed with sharp teeth and topped by red hair. "I also set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Draw!" One of the Ghosts declared, snapping up a card from his Deck and spinning it around instantly. "I Summon Mechanical Chaser (ATK: 1850, LV: 4)!" In a split second a round monster with a sword-like lower section, six thin bladed arms and a metallic face. "I attack your Mad Daemon! Machine Slash!"

"Permanent Trap Open!" Jack yelled, revealing his set card. "I prevent your monster from attacking or using its effect!" Out of the flipped card shot a long length of chain that wrapped around the monster opposite Jack, binding its arms over its chest. "Thus, your attack goes nowhere!"

"I set three cards and end my turn," the robot then declared, placing a card on the tray before Judai reached for his own Deck and pulled something.

"I activate my Angel Baton Speed Spell," Judai revealed, pulling two cards from his Deck and then immediately throwing one of the two into the Cemetery. "Next, because I have Necro Darkman in my Cemetery, I Summon an E-HERO without release. Come, Edgeman (ATK: 2600, LV: 7)!" In a flash he placed the card onto his tray and called up the bladed gold warrior, flexing itself into an offensive pose.

"Necro Darkman, attack Mechanical Chaser! Edge Slash!" Extending wings from its back, the monster shot forward and swung its blade arm across the body of the machine; this split the chain and caused the machine itself to explode, taking a chunk from its controller.

"Trap Card Open (LP: 3350)!" its controlling robot declared. "Ojama Trio! I Special Summon 3 Ojama Tokens to my opponent's Field in Defence Position (DEF: 1000, LV: 2) (DEF: 1000, LV: 2) (DEF: 1000, LV: 2)!" On Judai's field then emerged the forms of three small creatures – one yellow with eyestalks, one black with a huge head, and one green with one eye – appeared crouching before Judai, turning blue.

"I set one card to end my turn," Judai stated, another of the Ghost Robots drawing a card. _"This is becoming far too much of a side-track. That's most likely Placido's plan; he's wearing us down so he can proceed with his plan."_

"I Summon Ally of Justice – Tractor (ATK: 0, LV: 1)," the second Ghost declared. In front of said robot then emerged a light blue large mechanical monster with a truck-like torso, including a hitch on a rope with a hook at the end. "Next, since a LIGHT Monster exists on the opponent's field, I Release this monster and add 2 Ally of Justice Monsters from my Deck to my hand!"

"What?" Jack asked in disbelief, watching as the monster disappeared and two floating cards emerged in its place; these then shrank to normal size and floated into the robot's hand, where they were spun around in revelation, along with a third card from the hand.

"Since 2 LIGHT Monsters exist on the opposing field, I Special Summon 3 of Ally of Justice – Cosmic Closer [(ATK: 2400, LV: 8) x3]!" In front of the monster then appeared 3 cylinder-like objects with 4 mechanical crab-like legs and a mirror on its end. "Next, I shall release 2 of these monsters for Ally of Justice – Thunder Armour (ATK: 2700, LV: 8)!"

Two of the monsters then changed into neon orbs and fused together, revealing a red monster with 4 multi-jointed legs and a pair of thick arms. "I attack the Ojama Tokens with Thunder Armour and Cosmic Closer!" In a few milliseconds both monsters slammed into two of the tokens; these then exploded and Judai felt a massive pain, then watched in horror as his Life Points fell dramatically.

"That Thunder Armour must have the effect of giving Ally of Justice Monsters Penetration Damage (LP: 300)," he realized, reaching for a card in front of him. "But, I still have cards left I can play. Trap Card Open: Hero Signal! Come, Wildman (ATK: 1500, LV: 4)!" Beside Judai's existing monster then emerged his tan-skinned warrior with giant sword and long black hair, ready for battle.

"I set 3 cards and end my turn," the new Riding Roid yelled. "Now, Kyojo, show us your power!"

"This entire situation is becoming far too chaotic for my liking," Jose muttered to himself in the new throne room within Public Security's head office. Sitting and watching the entire drama unfold with the Riding Roids, he then added, "Placido is becoming far too reckless and aloof, and that will interfere with our ultimate goal."

"And we wouldn't want that, would we?" Alessandro's voice suddenly declared, getting Jose's attention as the tan-skinned man suddenly integrated in a standing position over the throne that was originally Lucciano's. "After all, if there is any hope of reaching our goal for the future, the absence of unity will simply tear the world apart. The Dark Signers demonstrated that all too well."

"So even you could not break the iron will of Ryukishi Kyojo?" Jose questioned. When Alessandro shook his head in shame Jose added, "Until he is removed from our path, the Signers will continue to be a thorn in our side."

"Do you really believe that is the problem between us and the Signers?" Alessandro questioned condescendingly, crossing his arms and gaining a smug smile. When Jose turned and gave the man a scathing look he elaborated; "Have you considered the possibility that this is God's will?"

"We are the disciples of God himself," Jose reminded Alessandro while the man's riding suit turned into a purple glow and shattered. It was then replaced by the form of a trench coat-like robe with a metal chest plate and belt to hold it in place; as well as metal gloves and boots, black pants, a metal Infinity headband and his left bangs covering his left eye. "Why would God ever wish that we see opposition?"

"Because unless conflict exists in the world, there will be no place for Enforcement like us," Alessandro argued, actually making Jose ponder what he said. "But enough semantics; until our Third Machine Emperor arises, all we can do is wait for the Signers to falter."

"And we must also keep a very close eye on Paradox," Jose instructed. "Even though Placido used his powers on him, Paradox's own might is so great that he can oppose them. Whether or not Placido knows this, his focus on the Signers leaves an unstable man unattended."

"Then I will keep the man in check for as long as I can," Alessandro agreed, a Duel Disc materializing on his right hand. It was dark blue, with an Infinity Symbol over the Life Point Counter and five cylinders over a frame where the blade should have been. A Deck then instantly materialized there and he said, "If the need should arise, I will take him of with my true Deck." With that he again disappeared, leaving Jose to watch the attacks alone.

Standing in the darkness of Old Momentum's chamber alone, Paradox's glowing eyes were fixed on the attacks upon people in Neo Domino City with the Ghost Army. "So, this is the infamous Diablo Project which Placido created from the confiscated D-Wheels? How very clever; yet how disdainful."

Then, his attention turned to a specific screen which drew in his attention. On it, he saw Crow Hogan surrounded by the Riding Roids, being attacked from all directions and fight back just as hard. "Hmm… interesting," he mused. "The owner of the New Signer Dragon is within my reach… and so is my old servant!"

Forming his left hand into a fist, he raised it to the air and it burst into a brilliant golden glow; this consumed his body and took him away from where he was, and transported him onto the streets of Satellite aboard his D-Wheel, speeding in the direction of his target with his mask now over his face.

"I'm coming for you, Crow Hogan!" he said under his breath, watching his D-Wheel's console as the image of the roadways appeared, glowing dots along it, Those that were in red showed the Riding Roids in Placido's army, and of these there were many; but he also saw a single black blip, which could only be the Blackbird. Grabbing the controls even tighter, he accelerated until his D-Wheel burst into a white glow and vanished.

Miles away, in the midst of the swarm of Ghosts, Crow shot along with no cards on his Duel Disc or in his hand, having orange orbs with many purple screens shoot straight at him from all directions. Though he dodged many of them, some struck his D-Wheel and exploded, causing him to sway from side to side and cry out in pain.

Then, he heard a sound unlike anything he had heard prior, and this caused him to turn around. Then, he saw a white blast of energy come shooting out from behind the Ghosts, causing the back two to explode and a figure to appear between them. There could then be seen a D-Wheel that was black on its right half and white its left, a purple gem and yellow eyes on a dragon's face-like end.

"What the…?" Crow asked, not believing what he saw. The D-Wheel was then seen to have two boosters on its end and doubled rear wheels. Then, he saw the black, white, red and grey-coloured massive man with the strange mask on and a similarly-coloured helmet covering the top of its head.

"Diablo Army," the figure then said in his deep, commanding voice while raising his left hand commandingly, "You have been relieved of your duties as of now. Leave the Signer to me!" In a split second the lines on the face of the mask glowed green and a similar pattern appeared on the Ghost D-Wheels, causing then to turn away and shoot off in a separate direction.

"What the hell are you…?" Crow started to question before he realized who he was talking to. Then, a surprised gasp came over his face and quickly turned to anger and he spat, "You bastard! You're that prick who's been taking people's Soul Cards and causing so much pain… Paradox!"

"I see that my reputation precedes me," Paradox issued in sarcastically-feigned surprise, "but I must explain to you the true purpose of my action. You see, pain exists in this world because of humans; and when I have finished with the bastard people who have ruined this world, then a little pain will be a small price for a better world."

"You're completely insane!" Crow yelled insultingly. "Destroy the people will do nothing but beget more harm and pain! You're plan is as fucking crazy as you are!"

"Some rather choice and harsh words for the newest Signer," Paradox passively reflected in amusement; "but if I wanted the opinion of a whiny little brat, I would ask those two twins you're so attached to." Just then the pattern of lines on his mask changed to orange and appeared on Crow's D-Wheel, and his wrist dealer suddenly shuffled the Deck and spit out five new cards. Then, one on Placido's right arm did the same.

"What the fuck is this?" Crow suddenly issued, just as Paradox's console extended into a blade-like object with 5 Monster Card Zones and 5 full-size zones for Magic and Trap Cards. Then, the Speed World 2 Field Magic appeared on both players' consoles and the computerized voice declared, "Duel Mode, Autopilot Standby."

"I want to experience the power of your Blackfeather Dragon first hand, this time from the perspective of the opponent. That way, I can gage the power of the Signers for myself."

"So it was you who made my Dragon hurt Kiryu!" Crow yelled, snapping his hand into the tray as Paradox put his into a clasp on his right arm. "Then in that case, I will take pleasure in making you feel the same fucking pain!"

"We'll see," Paradox said, the lines on his face finally ceasing to glow and both players looking at their hands before yelling,

"Riding Duel! Acceleration!"

Crow: LP 4000

Paradox: LP 4000

"As the challenger, I choose to go first," Paradox yelled, grabbing the top card to his Deck with his left hand and snapping it up. As he did, a second card slid out from his Deck and he declared, "I exclude from my Deck the Ultimate Gem God – Rainbow Dragon." When that was done, the card shot out and revealed itself as the said card, becoming huge and floating before him with a black aura around it.

"What the fuck is this?" Crow asked, watching in horror as the card burst out into a huge column of rainbow colours. Then, this turned black and bent around into a serpentine form with two large wings, two smaller wings further down and a bladed tail; and then this blackness shattered, revealing the twisted version of Johan's dragon with metal wings and Paradox face.

"The power of the Darkness of Heart allows me to transcend the regular forms of monsters and intensify their power, creating the embodiments of true hatred, rage and bloodlust," Paradox explained. "And this is the first you shall behold: Sin Ultimate Gem God – Rainbow Dragon (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!"

"A Level 10 4000 ATK Monster on the first turn?" Crow yelled in exasperation. "Quit your fucking cheating!"

"Relax, miserable human," Paradox chastised. "Sin Monsters can only exist on the field one at time; they also prevent my other monsters from attacking, and if my Field Magic exists they are destroyed."

"_But since this is a Riding Duel, Speed World 2 cannot be removed," _Crow realized._ "Thus, his monsters have one of their biggest drawbacks completely removed!"_

"I shall set 2 cards from my hand and declare the end of my turn," Paradox issued, two cards hitting their zones and appearing on either side of him before disappearing. "Now, Crow, tell me: how will you reply to my strong challenge?"

"How?" Crow repeated smugly, reaching for his Deck. "With a stronger attack! Draw (Crow: 1 SPC/Paradox: 1 SPC)!" With all the cards in his hand visible he grabbed one and said, "Since I control no cards, I Special Summon Black Feather – Gust of the Adverse Wind from my hand (ATK: 900, LV: 2)!" In a quick flash appeared the small winged monster with a human face inside a bird-head, as Crow reached for another card in his hand.

"I Summon Black Feather – Qal'at of the Moonlight (ATK: 1400, LV: 3)!" Then, from the same vortex emerged the small grey-feathered bird with red and yellow face feathers and no beak; but immediately after that, he grabbed yet another card from his hand and spun it around.

"I activate the effect of Black Feather – Gale of the Whirlwind (ATK: 1300, LV: 3)!" Directly between the two monsters then emerged a blue-feathered monster with green wing-like objects on its head and a similar face to the previous monster. "Next, I activate this monster's effect, and I have the ATK of your might Sin Monster (ATK: 2000)!"

As Paradox watched impassively, Crow added, "I Tune my Level 3 Gale to my Level 3 Qal'at and my Level 2 Gust!" The blue monster then turned into a white orb that split into three smaller ones, who drew green rings and disappeared. The two monster monsters then flew into these and turned into 3 and 2 white orbs respectively, forming a vertical column of five and exploding into a column of light.

"Gust fiercely, storm! Gain the will of steel and the speed of light to sublime your form! Synchro Summon! Black Feather – Lone Silver Wind (ATK: 2800, LV: 8)!" From the flash then emerged a tell, thin monster with thin grey wings, a rapier in one of its two white-glowed hands, dull yellow boots and a bid face as a battle helmet.

"When this monster is Synchro Summoned, I can destroy up to two monsters whose DEF are less than his ATK in return for skipping my Battle Phase. _"That leaves me two choices. Well, he has 2 set cards, both of which are likely traps and one of which likely something that might destroy him if I attack, Better play its safe."_ "I activate that effect!"

Jumping up in the air, his monster slashed its sword across the chest of the larger dragon, which roared out before its body exploded and Paradox was left alone. However, he then pressed a button behind one of the two set cards. "Trap card: Sin Tune. This card activates in a turn when a Sin Monster is destroyed. Thus, I draw 2 cards!"

As Paradox grabbed the two cards from his hand and put them in place, Crow took one of his few cards and set it. "I place this face-down and end my turn!"

"Then I draw (Crow: 2 SPC/Paradox: 2 SPC)," Paradox declared, immediately placing his drawn card into his hand and reaching for one from his previous two draws. "From my Extra Deck, I now exclude Cyber End Dragon." In a split second the mentioned card appeared as had the last, and just as the previous it burst into a black aura. This time, however, the card became the entire form of the mechanical three-headed beast, and then the blackness completely consumed it.

"Behold, Sin Cyber End Dragon (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!" The black aura then shattered off the monster, revealing its metal wings, chest plate and masks, and then it began a long mechanical roar which sent shivers down Crow' spine.

"So you are the one who attacked Hell Kaiser!" Crow finally snapped. "I knew it! And now you have the audacity to use his prized monster?"

"With Hell Kaiser unable to duel, it would be a shame to let such a monster go to waste," Paradox retorted. Then, he suck out his left hand and yelled, "Go, Cyber End! Attack Lone Silver Wind! Darkness Evolution Burst!" Opening all three of its mouths, black static started arcing in each one and eventually black orbs of energy formed.

"Permanent Trap Open!" Crow exclaimed, a card appearing by his side. "Black Wind Burst allows me to add one Black Feather Monster with less ATK then the attack target from my Cemetery to my hand once per turn." When a card spat out of the machine, he held it up and said, "Next, due to the effect of Qal'at, by sending it to the Cemetery, Lone Silver Wind gains 1400 ATK for this turn (ATK: 4200)."

"Is that was you think?" Paradox challenged, shifting his left arm out to his side. "Trap Card Open: Sin Restrain. When a Sin Monster battles with an opponent's monster, I halve that monster's ATK in Damage Calculation (ATK: 2100)."

"Kisama! You planned this!" Crow yelled out, watching as Paradox simply laughed in reply. _"So even if I had attacked last turn, it would have done me no good."_

"With your monster weakened, your Life Points will now follow suit," Paradox declared. "Battle!" In a flash the three heads on the monster cane together in a triangle formation and shot their blast of black electrical energy like a swirling horizontal tornado; when it slammed into Crow's monster, the blast bounced off but the blast continued until it struck Crow, resulting in a loud pained scream.

Crow: LP 2100

Paradox: LP 4000

"Due to your Lone Silver Wind's effect," Paradox realized while his monster's three heads separated, "the first destruction by battle of a Black Feather after its summon is negated. However, you are not spared the damage. I set one card and end my turn." Reaching from his hand, he threw one card down onto the tray and stared up at Crow, a sadistic glare behind his mask.

"Then in the End Phase," Crow declared, "Lone Silver Wind's power returns to Normal (ATK: 2800). Draw (Crow: 3 SPC/Paradox: 4 SPC)!" Crow snapped, grabbing up the card and spinning it around between his index finger and middle finger. "I activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton!" Reaching for his Deck, he grabbed one and then another card and looked at the quickly; then, he took a card that had been in his hand and threw it away.

"Let me guess," Crow asked, turning his attention to the monster Paradox controlled. "Seeing as how Cyber End Dragon inflicts Penetration Damage, I take it Sin Cyber End has the same effect?"

"That is correct," Paradox flatly admitted. "This means your Life Points fall under 1000 with my next attack no matter what Position your monster is in."

"_Then I have to take some damage to get out of this pit,"_ Crow realized, looking at his hand. Taking one of the cards he drew and the other older card, he threw them into slot and said, "I set 4 cards and end my turn!"

"Then I draw (Crow: 4 SPC/Paradox: 4 SPC)," Paradox declared, swiftly taking his card and throwing it into his hand. "Battle! I attack Lone Silver Wind with Sin Cyber End!" As with before, a card slid from Crow's Cemetery and all three heads started to form in the monster's jaws; but this time, however, Crow had another move up his sleeve.

"Trap Card Open: Tuner's Mind!" Crow snapped, his monster bursting out into a white aura. "When my Synchro Monster is attacked, I return it to the Extra Deck to bring back its materials from my Cemetery (ATK: 1300, LV: 3) (ATK: 1400, LV: 3) (DEF: 1400, LV: 2)!" The white light of the monster then split off into three and revealed all three birds from Crow's first turn, the attack of the dragon firing and immediately going for the Tuner.

"Next, I discard a second Qal'at from my hand," Crow issued, showing the card he had retrieved before splitting up his monster, "And I power up Gale for his Battle (ATK: 2700)!" However, even with this bonus, the strike from the monster simply vapourized it and continued on to Crow, again making him wail on in pain while Paradox laughed psychotically.

Crow: LP 800

Paradox: LP 4000

"Your Life Points have fallen below the margin of no return," Paradox mused, "and mine have yet to be touched. We will see where that leads us for the rest of the Duel. I end my turn."

"Enough with your despicable boasting!" Crow yelled, giving Paradox the finger as he did so. "As a Signer, it is my duty to make you pay for your action. Draw (Crow: 5 SPC/Paradox: 5 SPC)!" When he grabbed the card from his Deck and he saw it, he knew that everything was ready to move forward; thus, he took a monster from his hand and threw it down. "I Summon Black Feather – Nino of the Tempest (ATK: 1700, LV: 4)!"

As he showed the card to Paradox, it emerged as a tall, thin figure with the head of a raven and matching wings, hands and feet much like birds' feet, and a body covered in black feathers. "This monster cannot be summoned unless I control a Black Feather monster; but given that it is a Level 4 Tuner, that matters not!"

"So you've assembled the summoning requirements for your fancy new dragon?" Paradox asked coyly, his mask hiding the sickening sneer that was actually on his face. _"Come to me, my pet!"_

"I Tune my Level 4 Nino of the Tempest to my Level 3 Qal'at and my Level 2 Gust!" Rising up into the air, the monster's wings exploded and released 4 white orbs before its entire body vanished. These formed 2 green rings each when they collided, which each monster rose up into and changed into 3 and 2 white orbs, respectively. Then, the composite elements came together and formed a column of light.

"Mighty dark winds of truth," Crow chanted, "become a dragon of true power and cast judgment upon the enemies of justice! Synchro Summon! Soar up, Blackfeather Dragon (ATK: 3200, LV: 9)!" Out of the light then stretched the enormous black-feathered wings of the dragon before its whole form made itself known; the long limbs, tail and neck ending with a toothed beak and the wing-like struts marking it for sure.

"Next, I activate my Trap Card: Synchro Strike!" Crow yelled, revealing the card for Paradox to behold. "Fore each Synchro Material used, my monster gains 500 points (ATK: 4700)! Battle! Destroy that impostor of Cyber End Dragon!" Roaring loudly, the monster rose up on its fully-extended wings and threw a blast of black flames through the monster's chest plate, destroying it instantly.

Crow: LP 800

Paradox: LP 3300

"Then I shall activate a second Sin Tune Trap Card," Paradox declared, revealing his other set card before reaching for his Deck and grabbing two more cards.

"I set this card face-down and end my turn," Crow stated simply, leaving him with no cards in his hand. _"This guy's Deck is strong... he's dealt more damage than me with his monsters, and his hand as 7 cards in it while mine has none!"_

"I draw (Crow: 6 SPC/Paradox: 6 SPC)," Paradox declared, reaching for his Deck and snapping up yet another card. Then, he reached into his hand and grabbed yet another card and held it up. "I exclude Red daemon's Dragon from my Extra Deck…"

"What?" Crow said, unable to believe it as he saw the card appear in front of Paradox, the black aura consuming it. "You didn't get that from Jack or Kyojo, so how to you… you stole it from X!" Crow finally realized, pointing the finger at the man.

"So I did," Paradox stated while the card shattered and a black silhouette of the monster appeared before him. "Now behold, Sin Red Daemon's (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" The revealed monster was identical to its counterpart save for the mask, metallic wings, a new metal chest plate and shin plates in black metal with grey trim; this monster then let out an angered roar as the lines over its eyes glowed gold in unison with Paradox's.

"Next I shall activate the Speed Spell – Over Boost," Paradox stated, holding up the card and causing it to appear. "For this turn, I have 4 Extra Speed Counters; but during the End Phase, they become one (Crow: 6 SPC/Paradox: 10 SPC)." When all of his Counters had been added, he pointed at his console sneered under his mask.

"Next, I activate the effect of Speed World 2. By removing 10 Speed Counters from my Speed World 2, I destroy a card on the field. My target is none other than Blackfeather Dragon!" The gem on the end of Paradox's D-Wheel then glowed orange and shot a blast of energy straight at the dragon; however, it coated its right wing in black flames and threw them at the black, negating it.

"I negate Blackfeather's destruction in exchange for half its ATK (ATK: 1600)," Crow declared, his monster's point falling as he spoke. "Next, I activate Treasure of Last Will!" When the card flipped over, Crow explained, "This activates when a monster I control loses ATK and I have no cards in my hand; thus, I instantly draw 5 cards!" When his Wrist dealer spat out the 5 cards he grabbed them and placed them into his hand, sneering at the move.

"And it may also skip Damage Calculation to halve the power of my monster," Paradox realized. "I'm not going to fall for that effect. I set three cards, and in the End Phase my Speed Counters return to one (Crow: 6 SPC/Paradox: 1 SPC). I end my turn."

"Draw (Crow: 7 SPC/Paradox: 2 SPC)," Crow exclaimed, pulling a sixth card from his Deck and looking at his hand. _"Last turn, he forced me to weaken my monster so his own beast could surpass it. However, the cards I drew will help me get past him easily."_ "Speed Spell – Speed Energy! When I have 3 or more SPC, I gain 200 ATK for each of my monsters; thus, my monster gains 1400 ATK (ATK: 3000)! And next, I activate a second one (ATK: 4400)!"

"Impressive," Paradox informed. "You've more than compensated for the difference in points of our monsters. Excellent work, but I expect nothing les from a Signer."

"Then allow me to live up to your expectations in full!" Crow yelled, pointing his hand back at Paradox. "Battle! I attack Sin Red Daemon's with…"

"Trap Card Open: Sin Duality!" As he flipped this up, the colour scheme of everything around them reversed and Paradox explained, "This card allows me to destroy a Sin Monster I control; then, I negate all Battle Damage for this turn, and I gain Life Points equal to its ATK." Just then the inverse colours around them disappeared; now, the dragon before Paradox was missing and the attack in the mouth of the dragon had vanished.

"I set 4 cards and end my turn," Crow yelled back, taking the entire remainder of his hand and throwing it onto the tray. Looking around him, he saw that the were officially on the Daedalus Bridge, heading straight for Neo Domino; and that the tier below then had no drivers on it.

"Draw (Crow: 8 SPC/Paradox: 3 SPC)," Paradox said simply, looking at the cards that remained in his hand before turning his gaze solely to his draw. "Trap Card Open: Trap Stun! I negate all Trap Cards on the field for this turn." As he said this, all Zones with cards in them suddenly became inactivate, and so Crow knew that Paradox had something prepared for him.

"Next, I exclude Light and Darkness Dragon from my Deck," he stated, the card flying out from his Deck and arising covered in the black aura. "Now behold: Sin Light and Darkness (ATK: 2800, LV: 8)!" In a flash of blackness emerged a long-bodied dragon which was white on its right half and black its left, with two tails and an angel's and bat's wing with their proper side. On its face was a mask with the opposite colours, and the monster roared with anger.

"Battle! I attack Blackfeather with Sin Light and Darkness! Dark Shining!" Opening its jaws, a black orb of energy formed in its mouth and created a blaze of energy that went shooting at Blackfeather; except the dragon them se the black flames to its left wing, and Paradox smiled und3er his mask.

"As you pointed out earlier," Crow stated, "Blackfeather than skip Damage Calculation and halve the points of a monster that attacks it. I think I'll do that right now!"

"I activate Sin Light and Darkness' effect," Paradox countered. "By reducing my monster's power by 500 (ATK: 2300), I negate and destroy that monster effect!" With a blast from its wings the dragon shot a bolt of energy at its target, causing the flames to pear from its left to right wing.

"Then Blackfeather's ATK (ATK: 800), and I make your monster be destroyed!" In retaliation, the dragon thrust the flames off its right wing straight at the offending monster, cleaving it cleanly in half and creating a huge explosion. At that time, Paradox's set card shattered and a black glow emitted from his Cemetery. "What the fuck…?"

"When Sin Light and Darkness is destroyed," Paradox explained, "it destroys all of my cards save for itself, and then I get to choose one of both of these effects: activate a Field Magic from my Cemetery, and/or Special Summon a Sin from my Cemetery. Return to me, Sin Cyber End (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!" The black energy them shot up from the Cemetery in a column and twisted into the massive form of the metal dragon, all three heads roaring at Crow.

"That monster still won't help you!" Crow yelled defiantly. "I'll just keep halving and halving its power until it's weaker." Just then, a card appeared on Crow's field facing backwards behind his Blackfeather Dragon, and red circuit board patterns of energy then formed on his monster, making it scream in pain. "What did you do?"

"The set card on my field was a card whose effect activates when it is destroyed," Paradox explained, the card returning from his Cemetery into his hand. "Sin Singularity equips to a face-up monster after being destroyed. Now, this card's equipped monster cannot be destroyed by battle; but it cannot attack, be released, or activate any of its effect!"

"What? No!" Crow yelled, terrified by this realization while his Dragon roared and bellowed, unable to move very much due to its bindings.

"Before the might of one who has transcended humanity," Paradox stated, "bastard humans are nothing. Battle! Sin Cyber End, attack Blackfeather Dragon! Darkness Evolution Burst!" Putting its heads together in the triangle formation, the monster launched yet another swirling blast of black energy straight at Crow's monster; this black went straight over it, continuing on until it struck Crow and caused his D-Wheel to explode out from under him.

Crow: LP 0

Paradox: LP 6300

With the shockwave from the attack, Crow and his badly-damaged D-Wheel were sent careening straight into and through one of the glass barriers, falling about thirty feet onto the tier below. Paradox then stopped his D-Wheel and stoop up, pulling off the helmet to reveal the purple sections of his hair. Both players' dragons still remained floating behind their masters, now staring each other down, eyes to eyespots.

Looking down upon Crow, lying on the highway beside the mangled remains of his D-Wheel, Paradox smiled behind his mask and even laughed sadistically. "Look at you now, Crow Hogan, a might Signer who helped bring down Rex Godwin; against true power, you were nothing but a candle in the wind."

Turning his bloody head and facing Paradox, Crow gave the man an angry glare as Paradox reached for his mask and pulled it off. When Crow saw the face of the man, with golden eyes and mal-grown red eyebrow, he was also disgusted and awestruck at the strange form of his aggressor.

"To prove that I am beyond humans, I will show you a mercy no human enemy would," Paradox added, with the evil grin still upon his face. "I shall put you out of your misery, here and now." Putting its three heads together, Paradox's mechanical dragon fired yet another blast straight in Crow's direction; only this one was intercepted by a black flame blast from the dragon behind Crow, striking the other blow in midair and creating an explosion.

"_It's that Dragon,"_ Paradox realized before letting out a little chuckle. Looking back to Crow he added, "That Signer Dragon's original spirit has been woken up by the battle, and to has its desire to protect its master. But even so…" With that he raised his left hand, forming a static black orb in it and he threw it at the dragon. When it connected, the dragon was covered by an electrical field that made it screech in agony, while Paradox simply stared on.

"Now there will be no more interruptions for your euthanasia," Paradox explained to Crow, snapping his fingers. In an instant the still-in-formation heads fired a second bolt of black energy straight at Crow, seemingly with no obstacles. However, before it connected, a form jumped into the path of the attack and took its full brunt, letting out a scream of pain with two voices while the recoil shot straight up in the air.

When the blast had disappeared, it could be seen that standing in front of Crow, now having sustained injuries, was Judai, his eyes glowing in Yubel's colours and with Yubel's translucent form supermised over his. "Did you think we would simply let you harm Crow without a fight?" Yubel and Judai asked in unison, a hateful and judgmental glare coming from them up to Paradox.

"So, the Duel King Yuki Judai has indeed come to the aid of his friend," Paradox mused, again holding up his left hand to form a shock orb. This time, however, it was interrupted when the red and grey dragon belonging to Jack came shooting straight at him, fist burning. To dodge it, he jumped back and landed effortlessly, but in the process the energy for his attack was lost. Looking down, Paradox saw Jack and Kyojo standing on either side of Judai, both of them at the ready.

"So, I see the Summoners, Signers and the Supreme King have all gathered here," Paradox passively observed. "Sadly, our time of fun has drawn to a close; our time for battle has not yet come. Another day, Judai, Jack, Kyojo, we will do battle for real. But in the meantime, I suggest you hurry with your friend if you want him to live." With a snap of his fingers Paradox then disappeared into a white burst of light, along with his Dragon and D-Wheel; and when it was gone, everything had gone with it.

Standing in Placido's office before the man himself, Taiyou saw through Endymion's old mask that Placido's features had changed slightly from when last they met. Previous experience with men like this told him that he had managed to acquire some sort of power, a power which was now emitting itself at an alarming rate and giving Placido a rather disturbing aura.

"So you've inherited your former master's throne," Placido observed, speaking in a low and solemn voice. "Endymion's death was unfortunate, a tragedy; and it demonstrates the dangers of allowing the wicked ones to do as they wish."

"Spare me the condescending sarcastic bullshit," Taiyou shot back with complete animosity, surprising Placido and causing him to curl his eyebrow sternly. "Don't try and convince me that you're all innocent here; I know what you did."

"I've never once set foot in the Dominion of Beasts," Placido countered. "Paradox is the one who entered into that sacred place and caused chaos; even your master would have told you that."

"Using a pawn as an alibi for genocide is still no excuse," Taiyou flatly replied. "You had Paradox cause this chaos at your behest, so that you could further torment me for my allegiance to the Signers."

"And what good would that do me?" Placido questioned in response. "Killing Endymion and causing this type of civil war is the exact opposite of my goal. A world filled with peace and prosperity cannot be created by a warlord, so I would never stir up conflict."

"I'm still not listening to your lies," Taiyou spat, his anger boiling over. "Who the hell are you fooling with all this talk of peace and prosperity? You don't even know the meaning of those words! You're just like all the others; a genocidal fascist maniac whose goals serve only himself. That's all people like you ever turn out to be."

"And what exactly is a person like me?" Placido pondered to Taiyou, who gritted his teeth in response. "I guarantee you that you've never encountered someone like me before; because no one like me even exists."

"Oh really?" Taiyou questioned, lunging at Placido by jumping up in the air. In response Placido drew his sword and slashed it through the air, creating a slash in the dimension and causing Taiyou to fly straight through. The vortex then closed itself and Placido sheathed his weapon; but a second later, he heard a sound behind him and spun around.

Standing right behind him, Taiyou thrust his closed fist straight into Placido's face right where his good eye was; but to his surprise, Placido sustained no damage at all. Instead, as he stepped back, Taiyou could feel the painful sensation in his hand that he remembered from his previous life; and that was from when he was shoved against an armoured truck.

"Now do you understand what I mean?" Placido asked simply, taking a few steps back until he was just inside his own office. "Paradox and I are not allies, we're not even on good terms; but there is one thing we have in common, and it's something that out of all the Signers, the Summoners and the Darkness of Justice, only you and Judai could understand.

"You mean…" Taiyou realized suddenly and with total shock, stepping back with an awestruck look on his face. "No… that's impossible… you two can't be…"

"Oh, but it is indeed true," Placido said with a sneer. "At one time we were no different from Yusei or Jack, ordinary people who were pillars in our timelines; but in the midst of tragedy, we both were forced to transcend humanity."

"What… are you…?" Taiyou gasped out just as Placido's white suit was encompassed by a green glow and dissolved away. It was then replaced by his regular Yliaster outfit minus the cloth over his head; the Infinity symbol forming his collar glowed while a he reached for his sword and shoved the blade straight through his left arm.

In a split second, the same green glow consumed the sword and his arm; in this state, the matter twisted around and the result was only revealed after he finished. The sword's hilt had split in two vertically, along with the blade, and the two halves now formed a straight line between his ulna and radius, a platform of green energy suspended in a semicircular shape.

"Let's go, Taiyou," Placido insisted while a section of his arm just above his wrist opened up on an angle, producing a Deck and automatically shuffling it. "I'll show you through this duel the limitless potential for those who have surpassed humanity." After that a glowing red barrier in the shape of a figure eight enclosed the two men, energy radiating up in a flame-like way.

"Alright," Taiyou responded, his own Duel Disc materializing on his arm and the three blades extending out and into Battle Mode. "I shall use this chance to defeat you and end the reign of terror by Infinity; then, I'll go straight for Paradox."

"A feat that is doubtless easier said than done," Placido responded as Taiyou's Deck materialized and it spit out a hand of five cards. As it did that Placido pulled his own hand of five cards and eyed Taiyou with a confident grin. In reply, Taiyou simply stared back solemnly and stared at the man through his mask, reaching for his Deck.

Taiyou: LP 4000

Placido: LP 4000

"I take the first move," Taiyou insisted, ripping the card from his Deck. "I Summon Magical Archer (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)!" Placing the card on the tray, Taiyou called up his tall warrior with bow and arrow; and then the orb on the bow lit up. "Next, I activate the magic Card Quick Attack, and I permit my monster to attack this turn!"

Raising its bow to Placido, the monster fired a bolt of energy straight at the left side of the man's face, going straight through it and doing massive damage to his Life Points. But when the attack faded and the damage calculated, it was what Taiyou saw then that would have made his blood run cold.

Taiyou: LP 4000

Placido: LP 2200

The edges of Placido's face where he had been struck had been completely blown away and the skin torn aside, revealing a glowing red orb where his eye should have been and a distinctly metal cheekbone. As he gave off a dark smile with his damaged face, particles of glowing metal stretched across his face and covered over the damaged areas, making his eye and face look normal again.

"Just as I told you," Placido responded, "I have transcended humanity…"

**Card of the Week – Paradox**

**Sin Cyber End Dragon**

**Type:** DARK

**Level:** 10

**Family(s):** [Machine/Effect]

**Effect:**

**Chapter**: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or set. This card can only be Special Summoned by Excluding 1 "Cyber End Dragon" from your Extra Deck. There can only be 1 face-up "Sin" Monster on the field. Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. If there is no face-up Field Spell Card, this card is destroyed. During battle between this attacking card and a Defence Position Monster whose DEF is less than this card's ATK, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent.

**Anime:** This card cannot be Normal Summoned or set. This card can only be Special Summoned by sending 1 "Cyber End Dragon" from your Extra Deck to the Cemetery. During battle between this attacking card and a Defence Position Monster whose DEF is less than this card's ATK, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent.

**ATK/** 4000

**DEF/** 2800

*Placido has "Transcended Humanity". I wonder what that means… Review if you wish.*


	29. Surpass Humanity's Limits

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 29 – ****Surpass Humanity's Limits! Duel of Revelations, Taiyou vs. Placido**

Standing opposite Placido with a black stare of total shock on his face, Taiyou only kept up his surprised expression while Placido stared back at him with his single visible eye. The flesh on his face, now completely returned to where it has been, gave a human look to what had just been a mechanical, nightmarish being which Taiyou could previously only have dreamed of.

"It's rude to simply look on at someone with one's mouth open," Placido finally said with a chuckle, the same sinister look on his face. "Perhaps now you understand the appeal of transcending the limitations of the frail human coil, to cast off the shackles of mortality."

"What the fuck are you…?" Taiyou finally brought himself to ask, half-whispering and half-gasping while he and his monster simply looked into the single visible eye of the Yliaster leader.

"Proof that human understanding is far too narrow," Placido answered vaguely. "Tell me, Kenshi Taiyou, does the name Ponce de Leon mean anything to you?"

"The conquistador who sought the fountain of youth," Taiyou responded, nodding. A second later, the wave of realization hit him and he spat out, "Wait… you…"

"Were a member of his infantry, yes; however, that relationship ended in blood…"

Several hundred years earlier, in the muggy swamps of the Florida everglades, Placido stood over the roots of a half-fallen tree, dressed in Spanish navy attire and holding a large sword in his hand. Opposite him, on a large rock, stood the likewise-armed form of the infamous Captain, staring Placido dead in the eyes. Overhead of them, the black storm clouds had begun to roll in, and small bursts of thunder could be heard.

"Placido, why have you turned against me so?" de Leon asked of him despairingly (obviously in Spanish), indication the countless bodies of dead sailors surrounding them in a strange formation. Ponce had come across Placido, his outfit drenched in blood, as he had been arranging the dead soldiers in a circular formation with a figure eight reaching to the edges. "Why did you do this to our fellow man? Why did you forsake our Queen, our God?"

Staring back at his commander with cold eyes and pointing to the men with his sword Placido replied darkly, "Everything we thought we knew is a lie." When he was met only with a blank stare from his confused commander he elaborated: "The fountain of youth is not a vessel of water, or anything of that sort; it is a fountain of blood."

"What in God's name are you talking about?" de Leon declared accusingly, pointing his sword at Placido. "The fountain cannot be a Heathen blood sacrifice; God would not allow it to be so!"

"God tests the hearts of humans," Placido responded coldly, "and many of us fail. No amount of prayer or faith will make us any greater in his eyes; if we truly want to prove ourselves to Him, we must show that we can do the darkest things."

"Those are the words of the Devil," de Leon shot back, terrified at what Placido was saying. "God would never ask such dark deeds of his loyal followers."

"Believe as you wish from your Bible," Placido spat back. "God speaks directly to me; and he wishes for me to become his servant in a blood baptism. If you wish to try and stop me, I cannot allow you to live."

"I feel sorry for you, Placido," de Leon said solemnly, lowering his gaze. "The Devil has possessed you, tainted your soul. May I set you free in death, so that your soul may go to Him in peace." Jumping forward from the stone and tree, de Lion and Placido met in the centre of the circle and immediately locked swords, throwing each other a few feet back and simply running straight at each other again.

"I did not want it to come to this if it did not have to," Placido informed his superior, "but you have left me no choice!" Swinging around with his sword, Placido cut through his master's left arm and sliced it off at the elbow. The immediate reaction of the man was to kick Placido straight in the chest, slashing him across the face as he did so and sending the man flying face-first into the roots of the trees.

Grunting in pain, de Leon reached for the fabric of his coat and made quick work of tying it off at the end of the stump. Stepping forward and noting Placido's lack of motion, he could see the blood pouring down the right side of the man's face. Lying beside the man's foot was his lacerated right eye and fragments of his facial structure lay around it; looking at Placido's damaged face, it was obvious the pain he must have felt.

"For the heathen sins which have died your soul black," de Leon stated, flipping Placido over onto his back with his foot and holding his sword above the man's chest, "may your spirit rest in peace with Him." In a quick thrusting motion he shoved his sword straight down at Placido incredibly quickly; but Placido blocked with his left arm, causing it to be cut off just below the shoulder.

"It is not my time to die," Placido explained, not giving de Leon time to process the thought. As he spoke, his sword was pushed straight up through the bottom of de Leon's head, killing the man instantly. At that very moment, a lightning bolt from the sky above was attracted to the blade and struck it, enveloping the area in a white radiant glow.

When the glow had faded away, Placido found himself floating in a white void. His arms were broken, his ram gone and his face damaged, but he could still feel that the world around him had no wind, no warmth. Staring forward, he could see a red glowing orb at the centre of the white world, his reflection roughly appearing.

"Why have you come to me?" a deep voice suddenly asked, Placido feeling himself being drawn closer as it spoke. When he was within a few feet of it, its red energy expanded and took on a face-like shape; one with glowing yellow eyes and mouth, staring back at him with a great prominence.

"I seek escape from the dreariness of human society," Placido answered confidently, not knowing what the being's reaction would be. At first be received nothing but a solemn, stern stare of reply; but after a few seconds, a dark smile came over the being's face.

"Then I will make an offer which I doubt you will refuse," it answered. "I will relieve you from the mortal constraints of humanity; but in return, you will be my servant and emissary to create a new world."

"A new world?" Placido questioned. "Then you are just as disgusted by humanity's failures as I?"

"The world is going down a path of darkness," the being answered. "When humanity came into being, their role was to instil a balance in this world; instead, they have caused greater misery. If you will help me undo that darkness, I will give you the new life you seek…"

"Very well…" Placido replied, ending the conversation. Then, the being's face disappeared and its energy began to radiate out, covering Placido and consuming him into an energy which he had never felt before. Instantly, an intense wave of pain consumed him and his senses grew overwhelmed; and so he screamed out in pain, not knowing what was happening.

Seconds later, the redness disappeared and the whiteness faded into blackness, leaving Placido in a true void. There, the intense pain continued as he felt his bones crumbling from within him. His own body then began emitting its own glow and he felt a new structure forming where his bones had been. His skin felt as though it was becoming fluid, and he could even feel his eye regenerating in a disturbing way…

Eventually Placido simply passed out from the intense sensation, only to awaken seemingly instantly back in the swamp. Looking around, his sense of sight seemed greater than he had ever known before, along with the rest of his senses so he could see that all of the bodies were gone, even de Lion's.

Then, he heard a dark chuckling from behind himself and so he turned around, shocked at what he saw. Standing atop the fallen tree was a black, white and red-clad form of a man with long blond hair with purple sections, clad in a mask and with rather odd attire. "Congratulations, Placido," the man said in a deep voice. "You have started down destiny's path."

"So it seems you too have been touched by the desire to change this world," Placido inferred, staring at the man and pointing his once again present left arm at him. "However, I sense malice in you; and hatred, sorrow and misery."

"You have gained great powers Placido," the man told him. "From this point on, your fate and mine will be intertwined on a journey which will twist the very fabric of nature, of reality. When next we meet, you will know the truth of this world; and then, perhaps we can make right what once was wrong…" With that the man faded off into blackness, leaving nothing behind to show he had been there.

Looking down upon the stump, Placido could see that his sword's hilt now had an Infinity Symbol; and beside that he saw a metal plate the size of his left face, also bearing the symbol. Picking up and putting on the plate the symbol on it began to glow green, this he could sense; and so he picked up his sword, sheathed it, and began to walk out of the swamp.

"So you were…" Taiyou gasped out at Placido's story, hardly believing what he had heard. "You saw…"

"That was the day I started down the new path of this world," Placido informed him. "There is no longer any need for human darkness; but unlike Paradox, I know that not everyone has to die. Only those who have sinned against the world and have defied His will."

"Even so… that offers no explanation for why you have turned against the Signers."

"I have done no such thing," Placido denied. "The Signers are God's servants just as I am, and I needed to know that they had the strength to carry out His mission."

"So you've been… testing them," Taiyou deduced, looking back at the man with understanding of the goal at hand. "But, if your goals are as benevolent as you claim they are, then why did my world have to suffer? Why did that need to occur?"

"So that your eyes could also be opened to the truth," Placido informed, his Infinity Symbol starting to glow red on his face. "The darkness which had infected the world of Magicians needed to be removed; and as tragic as it was, it needed to be done." Turning sombre for a second, he added, "I truly regret that such hateful slaughter needed take place."

"Stop hiding behind that crock of shit, Placido," Taiyou replied coldly, getting a look of frustration from the man. "What happened to the Placido I knew? Where is the soldier who would do anything for the good of others? And why has he been replaced by this… thing I see before me?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Kenshi Taiyou," Placido charged, getting the stunned reply from Taiyou that regained him advantage. "Why did you not, when you heard my name in connection with all this, simply lead the others to me? It was because you believed in what I was doing."

"That's a lie!"

"But is it? You knew deep down inside that what I was doing was right, and that opposing me would simply create worse chaos than it already has. Now, as I recall, it was still your turn."

Taiyou: LP 4000

Placido: LP 2200

"Then I shall set 3 cards," Taiyou responded, pulling 3 of the 4 cards from the hand tray on his Duel Disc and placing them face-down onto Magic and Trap Zones. "And that will end my turn."

"I draw," Placido declared simply. "I Summon Wise Core in Defence Position (DEF: 0, LV: 1)." With that the horizontal card emerged and recalled the white egg-like machine, whose body then split apart vertically in a rough way to reveal a green orb. "I set 4 cards, and that shall end my turn." With that he took said cards and placed them along the tray, face-down, in a sweeping motion.

"I draw!" Taiyou declared, snapping up his card instantly.

"Then at this moment, I activate Deck Destruction Computer Virus," Placido declared, causing a green circuit board pattern to appear both on Taiyou's Deck and his monster. "I destroy a DARK Machine-Type Monster with 500 or less ATK I control, and in exchange I send the top 10 cards of the opposing Deck to the Cemetery."

"What?' Taiyou realized, grabbing 10 cards from his Deck and simply throwing them away into the Cemetery. A second later, the core's main body began to spark with green energy and it eventually exploded. As it did, the singular glowing orb changed into a column of green light and the electricity formed on the tray of Placido's Duel Disc, solidifying into 5 cards.

"Come forth: Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity (ATK: 0, LV: 1), Wisel Top (ATK: 500, LV: 1), Wisel Attack (ATK: 1200, LV: 1), Wisel Guard (DEF: 1200, LV: 1), and Wisel Top (ATK: 800, LV: 1)," Placido declared, his face twisting into an insane look of pleasure, "and assemble into the form of Machine Emperor Wisel (ATK: 2500, LV: 1)!"

From the light then appeared the oblong Infinity-crested oblong object, the cobra-like object which shifted into a lead, the two football-like objects which became a shielded and a bladed arm respectively, and a two-lobed object which folded around into a pair of rounded legs. In a flash of green electricity the pieces fused together and the lights of the face turned on in red, showing that the machine was operational.

"With the power God has handed down to me, Machine Emperor Wisel," Placido informed, clenching his fist, "all those who oppose His will, shall be eliminated!"

"I won't fall so easily!" Taiyou yelled back defiantly, his gaze growing hard under his mask as he motioned at Placido. "I activate Magical Archer's effect: by removing the Magic Counter from my Archer, I attack you directly with half of his attack strength (ATK: 900, LV: 4)! Go, Spellman's Bolt!" With a draw of its bow the archer before Taiyou shot a bean straight from its bow at Placido, who flipped up a card in response.

"Permanent Trap Open: Shock Stun!" Placido declared strongly. "With this card in play, all Battle Damage from direct attacks is doubled!" Saying this, he watched as the bolt of energy grew larger and more intense, this time going straight through his chest and creating a glowing hole. To Taiyou's shock the hole healed over in a green glow as with before; and as his Life Points fell, Placido pointed at Taiyou's Deck.

Taiyou: LP 4000

Placido: LP 400

"In return for this larger blow, the player who declares a direct attack loses 1 card from their Deck for every 500 Points of damage they inflict. Therefore, you must discard 3 cards from your Deck, Kenshi Taiyou." Glaring angrily, Taiyou gripped his top cards and threw them into the Cemetery, just in time to hear the man chuckle darkly.

"You, my dear friend, are one of the most powerful Duellists I have ever had the fortune to meet. If I tried offensive play, you would simply retaliate; if I played defensively, you would strike harder. However, there is one strategy your Deck cannot counter; and that is Deck Destruction. Against the cards I have selected, you have no hope."

"_He's right," _Taiyou realized, looking down at his Deck._ "It's my second turn and 20 cards are gone from my Deck. Unless I can win in a few turns, my Deck will be destroyed."_ "I set one card and end my turn."

"Draw," Placido declared, flipping around the card instantly and watching it float. "I activate the Field Magic Card known as Z-ONE." The floating card then dissolved into a green flash of computer code, generating a huge white burst of light that completely took over Taiyou's field of vision for a few moments. As this occurred, he got a strange feeling as though his mind had been separated from reality, like he couldn't focus.

A few seconds later, however, he snapped back into the world around him to see that the field around them with a red glowing circuit board pattern and a white fog that seemed to go on eternally.

"Once in one turn, by skipping my Battle Phase, Z-ONE sends one card from y opponent's Deck to the Cemetery for each Wisel Monster I control. Since I have 5 Wisel Monsters, that seems a wise choice." With the red pattern glowing on his cards, Taiyou grabbed 5 of them and threw them away, watching as Placido sneered.

"With that I end my turn."

"_He has no need to attack," Taiyou realized. "Why would he? In 3 more turns my Deck is gone, and then I lose automatically."_ "Draw!" Snapping up the card, he took a card from his hand and declared, "I sacrifice Magical Archer for Magician's Destroyer (ATK: 2400, LV: 6)!" With that his monster was replaced with the black bulky monster which stood behind him, ready to attack.

"Next I activate my Permanent Trap, Pitch-Black Power Stone," he revealed, his card coming into view and gaining 3 glowing orbs appearing over it. "When Destroyer destroys a monster by battle, you will take 200 points of damage for each Magic Counter on this card. Thus, it will be my win. Go, Destroyer!"

"Is that what you think?" Placido questioned, snapping his fingers. "Trap Card Open: Astral Shift! I change the attack to a direct attack, and I draw one card!" Snapping up the card from his field of view, Placido watched as the Magician strayed from its trajectory and shot straight at him.

"What is this? Taiyou questioned. "Your move makes no sense, because you still lose the duel!"

"Or do I?" Placido questioned. "Trap Card Open: Wise Charger! For each Wisel monster in play, I recover 1000 Life Points. Thus, even with the doubled damage, I recover enough Life to survive this attack!" In a quick swing the magician slashed through Placido's robes, shattering them into green energy; and after that his Life Points climbed due to the effect.

Taiyou: LP 4000

Placido: LP 600

"My damage is 4800," Placido stated. "Therefore, you must discard the top 9 cards of your Deck!" With a complete gasp of disbelief, Taiyou grabbed 9 of his remaining cards and threw them into the Cemetery, watching valuable resources disappear. "Now you have only 5 cards left in your Deck. You'll last but one turn, and all will be over."

"Whether that's true or not," Taiyou rebutted, "I still have a few turns. I set one card and end."

"How utterly pathetic," Placido patronized. "I Draw," he declared, reaching for a card on top of his Deck and pulling it before pointing straight at Taiyou. "Next, I activate the effect of Z-ONE, and I send the last 5 cards of your Deck to the Cemetery."

With a green glow consuming his cards, Taiyou look the last pieces of his Deck and threw them away, leaving nothing but an empty Deck tray. "I see no need to continue, so I set one card end my turn."

"Big mistake," Taiyou declared confidently in reply. As Taiyou looked back with a surprised expression, a red glow emanated from his Cemetery slot and a card slid from it, which he grabbed and held up. "By skipping my Draw Phase, I return Magical Blast to my hand. Thus, I never draw the card that puts me over the edge."

"Not from your own hand, no," Placido sneered, moving his hand over to his set card and showing it off. "I activate Pact of Greed," he informed, "And due to this card, both players are forced to draw one card. That means my victory."

"Let's just see about that," Taiyou shot back. "As long as hope exists, I will never falter. Trap Card Open: Circuit Collapse! When a draw effect is activated, that effect is negated and its controller receives 1000 damage! That's game over Placido!"

"What?" was all the man could get out before the card started glowing and a similar glow began under his feet. In a few seconds the energy burst up overtop of him; and with a final rebel yell, he disappeared into the energy along with his monster.

"That's that," Taiyou thought to himself with this last move; however, seconds later, when the field had not disappeared, he realized that something was not as it seemed. The white field then changed into a huge red glow that overwhelmed his eyes, reducing his vision to a white haze.

"Such a foolish mistake, Summoner," Placido's voiced scorned from nowhere as Taiyou's vision suddenly returned. Looking back at where Placido had stood, he realized that the man was still there, and that the duel was exactly where it was after Z-ONE had been activated. "To think such a duel could progress."

"What did you do?" Taiyou snapped at the man, who simply adorned a confident glare. "How did you survive that duel? There's no way… unless…" When the realization hit him, he looked back and spat, "That whole thing was just a hypnotic vision."

"I wanted to give you the satisfaction of knowing a proper victory before I stole it from you," Placido clarified. "It's the least I can do for an old friend."

"Don't pull that trick with me!" Taiyou snapped. "You and I are on opposite sides now, and nothing you say will change that now!"

"Then I will continue with my plan," Placido informed. "I activate Magic Planter, and raw 2 cards by sending my Shock Stun to the Cemetery." With the card on his field dissolving into particles of light, Placido pulled 2 cards from his Deck and looked at them, an evil glare coming over his face.

"_Placido's mill cards were just to further my delusion and to advance his real goal," _Taiyou realized quickly._ "What happens next is anyone's guess."_ Before he could think anything more, however, a sudden rumbling sensation came over the building in feel and sound, and he knew that something was afoot. "What is this?"

"You'll see soon enough," Placido informed as the Infinity Symbol on his eyepiece again began to glow red and his now-returned robes shattered into green energy just as they had in the vision. Then, he spun around one of the cards and declared, "I activate Wise Wave, and I evolve my pieces into Wisel Top 3 (ATK: 800, LV: 3), Wisel Attack 3 (ATK: 1600, LV: 3), Wisel Guard 3 (DEF: 2000, LV: 3) and Wisel Carrier 3 (ATK: 1100, LV: 3)."

In the green light of the activated card, the head, arms and legs of the monster disappeared, producing the form of the four new parts in their base form; the snail-like right arm, the four-bladed right arm, the frog-like head and the twin-booster legs. These pieces then folded into the three-bladed and shielded full arms, the head and shoulder pads, and the long legs, and fused into the body of the machine for its new form (ATK: 3500, LV: 1).

"This will be the true power of the Wisel Deck," Placido informed, a sneer on his face that led into a short maniacal laugh, the green gem lighting up on his face. Then, sneering, he looked at Taiyou and declared, "Battle"; and after that, the monster proceeded to swing its left arm with blades straight down upon the magician.

"You think your little move scares me?" Taiyou inquired, reaching for the one card he never flipped in his vision. "Trap Card Open: Holy Barrier – Mirror Force! Though this effect, I destroy my opponent's attack position monsters. To your Machine Emperor I say, fare thee well."

"Such foolishness," Placido scorned smugly. "I'll show you just how wrong you are. Wisel Top 3's Monster Effect: once in one turn, I negate the effect of a Spell or Trap Card activated during my turn, and destroy it!" As Taiyou only looked on stunned, Placido's monster shot a pair of lasers from the black screen-like face of its head, shattering the card.

"Now, your monster." Swinging its arm straight downwards, the monster cleaved the magician in half and then sliced straight through Taiyou's ectoplasmic form. Though his body brought itself back together, he found himself clutching at his chest in pain, as though he had still been alive. With Placido crossing his arms and watching intently, he saw Taiyou's Life Points drop.

Taiyou: LP 2300

Placido: LP 400

"The duel has almost run its course," Placido informed as the trembling continued, "and soon it will arrive. I activate Life-Shaving card Treasure." When he placed the card in his Cemetery, he pulled 5 new cards and took two of them, setting them instantly. "Your move."

"Draw!" Taiyou declared, snapping up the top card of his Deck and finding a different draw, due that his Deck had not been further damaged. _"His little trick threw me off, but I can still win this thing. I just need to play this move right!"_ "I activate Double Magic, and I discard Village of the Magic Tribe." With the two cards in his hand warping away, Placido's card then appeared in his hand and Taiyou held it up, pulling 5 cards.

"So now you have a fresh hand as well, you say?" Placido confirmed. "But this does nothing to save you."

"We shall see," Taiyou declared, looking at his hand before flipping a set card. "Permanent Trap: Pitch-Black Power Stone!" With the card now face-up, he held up another card and declared, "I activate Dimensional Magical Technique, and I remove 1 Counter to Summon without release… Magician's Destroyer (ATK: 2400, LV: 6)!"

Another counter from the card then disappeared while Taiyou slapped the card down onto the tray, unleashing the black-armoured monster from his vision. "Next, I activate Magic Burial, and for 800 Life Points I resurrect the Apprentice of Endymion you discarded (ATK: 1000, LV: 2)!" When his power had fallen, the Tuner from Taiyou's duel in the other world appeared.

Taiyou: LP 1500

Placido: LP 400

"So you've inherited your master's Deck," Placido realized, smiling. "How interesting… I want to see this inheritance."

"Then see it you shall," Taiyou yelled. "I Tune my Level 2 Apprentice to my Level 6 Magician's Destroyer!" Two counters from the body of the magician released white orbs that became green rings around the other monster, changing it into a yellow outline with six white orbs inside that became a column of light.

"The darkness of the Sorcerer's might shall now take form, and envelop the enemy in true hell! Become the power of Death! Synchro Summon! Soul of Black Magic, Magician's Deathscythe (ATK: 2800, LV: 8)!" In front of Taiyou them emerged his old ace monster; the black-cloaked magician with glowing red eyes from the darkness of his cloak, a scythe-like staff and tattered robes with 4 lit up orbs on them.

"Since my Monster was Synchro Summoned with Apprentice of Endymion, both effects place 2 Magic Counters on it, for a total of 4 Counters (ATK: 3600). Next, I use one of Power Stone's Counters and move it to Deathscythe (ATK: 3800)." In an instant the counter from the trap died out and 1 appeared on the magician's scythe, leaving the trap card with one.

"Battle! I attack Machine Emperor Wisel with Deathscythe! Demise Disenchanting!" Jumping into the air, the monster swung its scythe straight at the body of the machine monster; but to Taiyou's surprise, the right arm of the machine came into the way of the scythe and took it without receiving a scratch. "What?"

"Such human foolishness," Placido scorned. "I can change the attack target of any opposing monster to Wisel Guard 3; and once per turn, Guard 3 cannot be destroyed by battle." Stating this, Placido watched Taiyou simply stare at his hand, dumbfounded, while he took his last 2 cards and set them.

"Then I have no choice but to end my turn with 2 set cards," he realized, a complete look of defeat on his face. _"Is this truly the best I can do? After gaining Endymion's legacy, his power… I cannot even save myself from the effect of his monster. But maybe, just maybe, these last 2 cards can buy me enough time to win."_

"I draw," Placido declared, reaching for his Deck and snapping up yet another card. "I activate Wisel Infinity's effect: I equip Magician's Deathscythe to Wisel, and absorb its power!"

"Trap Card Open!" Taiyou declared, reaching for the set card before him. "Sub-Space Matter Transfer Device! I exclude my Deathscythe for this turn!" _"That's it Placido; negate this card. Then, I can show you what I can truly do."_

"Then your card is wasted," Placido informed, the lasers of his monster again blasting and erasing the card Taiyou had played. With that the Infinity Symbol of his monster glowed and opened, revealing a slew of tentacles that wrapped around the body of the magician and drew it in, closing again with that power in hand (ATK: 6300).

"I had so hoped for more in our duel Taiyou," Placido said, sounding legitimately disappointed, which irritated Taiyou. "Ever since I first met you as a young street punk, I had hoped for you and me to duel some day. Back then, I had to keep my cover and obey you; but now, I serve the true master. Battle!"

Swinging back its arm again, the monster brought it crashing towards Taiyou, who simply snapped his fingers and flipped up his card. "Trap Card Open: Trap of Darkness! I pay 1000 Life Points and exclude my Mirror Force, and so I activate its effect again to…"

Before he could complete this sentence, however, Taiyou watched and felt as a burst of energy flew down the length of the building, shattering all the windows as it went. A loud hum rung out and a blast of orange energy shot straight down through the ceiling and floor of the building, the force of which cracked and shattered the eyepiece Placido was wearing.

"It has arrived," Placido realized, watching the energy descend into the darkness. "The final Machine Emperor, Jose's monster; it has come to us." After hearing these words, Taiyou looked to Placido to growl; but what he saw caused all anger to be replaced with shock, terror; for where his eye should have been was a segmented metal case cover a red lens, wires connecting it to his face.

"That matters not," Taiyou reminded, the art of his card simply changing to that of his previous card, along with the text. The swing of the monster's arm the struck it and a shockwave shot back, striking every single piece of the machine and exploding them into a ball of smoke. "Your Emperor is vanquished," Taiyou sneered, only to see Placido start laughing again.

In a second, horror occurred to Taiyou when he saw that all pieces of the monster remained on the field, unscratched, and Taiyou could only take a step back while his card shattered explosively. "Sorry, but Wisel Carrier 3's effect applies; Wisel Monsters cannot be destroyed by card effects."

"No… but, then I…" Taiyou stammered, his body starting to tremble while Placido simply chuckled darkly. "I… lost, to you… Judai, Yusei, I'm sorry…"

"Perish, along with your heritage," Placido declared, red energy charging up on the lens of the mechanical eye and blasting Taiyou straight across the chest. Though he blocked with his Duel Disc, he was sent flying straight into the wall of the Field Magic; then, Placido blasted him again and he disappeared into red and black mist, leaving to trace of himself.

Taiyou: LP 0

Placido: LP 400

With that the Field Magic simply vanished, with the Machine Emperor instantly disappearing too; and then his Sword diffused from his arm back into his scabbard as a beam of light. "Master Placido," a voice suddenly yelled as one of the security guards ran up to the door. "Master Placido, what was…?" When the man saw Placido's eye, however, he simply pulled out his gun to fire; but before he could, the eye fired another laser beam straight through his forehead, boring a hole through his head and killing him.

With that Placido simply jumped forward and down the huge hole from the falling tablet, watching as he passed by 50 stories in a blur of motion. When he had gone past what was the sub-basement and parking lot, he slowed and began to levitate in a green aura above a standing Jose, who was before the tablet with his left hand on it.

"The time is drawing near," Placido stated with crossed arms. "Alessandro and I will soon eliminate the last of the opposition from the Signers, Summoners and the Darkness of Justice; then, we can use the power of the Machine Emperors and eliminate Paradox, leaving nothing in our path."

"Be patient, Placido," Jose scorned, the tablet bursting into an orange light and simply shrinking to the size of a Deck. With that its form even transmuted into cards, and Jose fanned through them to look at his new cards. "We must complete the Circuit before we will have the power needed for that."

"Keep in mind that I completed the Circuit to become who and what I am," Placido reminded. "This time, though, Momentum and modern technology allow for a bigger, more efficient Circuit than with human sacrifice; enough for more than a single human transmutation."

"Your hordes of Riding Roids will allow us to collect some energy, but the Saviours will offer the strength we need better than anything else will."

"In addition to these," Placido added, reaching into the fold of his outfit and pulling out a handful of three cards. "Using the power of these cards, the Circuit will be completed that much faster."

Shooting along the highway towards the Neo Domino Hospital, Paradox silently planned what he was going to do when he got there. What he did not see was the white-cloaked figure following behind him on rollerblade-like shoes behind him; because his entire form was cloaked in a stealthy field.

The figure on the D-Wheel had 2 Figure-8 patters on his body – one on the front, one of the back – which came to points rather than closing, holding up his hood and a cape. An Infinity-like band held his robe shut like a belt and held up a cloth in front of the main robe. His chest, shoulders and legs were covered in armour plating, with Infinity-like knee pads and symbols on the shoulders; and his fingerless gloves covered the sleeves of his robes.

Within the hood, long, thin, black, dreadlock-like strands of hair formed a pair of lengths of bangs; the left of which covered his left eye, the right beside his face. An Infinity patch plate on his headband held them in place; and a scar under his right, blue, lightless eye gave him the look of somebody who had seen great hardship.

"_So tell me Paradox,"_ the figure thought to himself, staring intensely, _"What exactly do you intend to do at that Hospital? Do you intend to find Lucciano? Or perhaps, the traitor."_ Before this train of thought could be completed, however, an earpiece gave him a signal that he was about to receive instructions.

"Alessandro," the voice of Placido stated, getting the full attention of the man. "If you are still following Paradox, do not confront him. All I want you to do is retrieve Lucciano."

"I have Paradox in my sights," Alessandro protested, not raising his voice but showing contempt for the command. "Besides, _she_ is at this location, and I intend to…"

"Now is not the time to try and fulfill your own agenda," Placido hissed sharply, actually making the long-haired man flinch. "Do as I tell you and bring Lucciano back to headquarters; then, after you do that, you may have the girl if you wish."

After cringing for a few seconds of dead air, Alessandro finally said, "Understood, El Capitán," though it was in a growling, frustrated tone. As the communication cut off, his eye narrowed and his face twisted into rage. Then, he thought to himself, _"I can get Lucciano back to him no problem; but Paradox and that bitch are mine, not later but now..."_

When Paradox arrived at the door of the hospital, he simply slid his D-Wheel into a parking space and jumped off it, landing on his feet with crossed arms as the vehicle brought itself to a perfect stop. Paradox's form then became hazy, covered with a black aura, and then his form simply disappeared, leaving Alessandro with no visual.

"_It takes more than that to lose track of me,"_ he thought to himself, jumping up into the air with a downward thrusting motion of his legs until he reached a height of ten stories. His inertia ten brought him into the open window of an empty patient room, where the wheels on his metal boots retracted and he took up a standing pose.

Stepping forward and out into the hallway, Alessandro sneered darkly as a black burst of electricity consumed him, streams of energy jumping off and solidifying into solid forms that resembled the Riding Roids which had infested the highway. When roughly 50 of these beings existed, Alessandro turned to them all and said; "Go forth, X Units, and bring me the energy to complete the Circuit."

Nodding and chuckling evilly, the individual units dissolved into black electricity and slid through the walls, ceiling and floor in various directions, leaving only Alessandro standing alone in that hallway. Looking down at his sleeve, he punched in a code with some keys on a wristband and a 3-dimensional hologram of the hospital emerged over it.

Pressing a few more buttons, Alessandro's model zoomed in on the 12th floor, specifically a room whose form contained 2 energy signatures in the form of a red blip and a green one. "Both in the same room?" he questioned, breaking out into a light chuckle and a dark grin afterwards and added, "That makes things so much easier…"

Speeding down the Duel Lane towards the hospital had done no good for Judai, Jack and Kyojo, who now found them going around and around in circles as Battle Royal Duels were issued to them one after another; by now their spirits and energy were wearing thin, and even Kyojo's usual confidence had been lost to fatigue.

"It's my turn," Jack yelled, drawing his sixth card as a swarm of six Riding Roids tailed them. "I Summon Interceptor Daemon (ATK: 1400, LV: 4)!" In a flash Jack's football player-like six-armed demon appeared before him, chuckling madly as Jack threw 3 cards onto the tray in a single motion. "I end my turn."

"Then I draw," One of the Riding Roids issued, pulling a card from his Deck and playing it down. "I summon Ally Bomb in Defence Position (DEF: 300, LV: 2)." In front of him then emerged a single purple orb with gold trim around several purple glass windows, which floated in a seemingly inert pattern. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"It's my draw," Kyojo insisted. "I play Speed Spell – Angel Baton." Drawing 2 cards from his Deck at once, he inserted one from his hand into the Cemetery and started up. "I Summon Vice Dragon as a Special Summon (ATK: 1000, LV: 5)!" As the dragon came into view with a snarling form, Kyojo reached into his hand and simply grabbed another card.

"Next, I Release Vice Dragon and Summon material Dragon (ATK: 2400, LV: 6)!" With the monster disappearing into white light, a golden dragon with a thick build, three-clawed hands and feet and six segmented wings appeared with an eagle-like cry, ready for a fight. "Battle! I attack Ally Bomb with Material Dragon! Materia Burst!" Rearing back its head, the dragon shot a burst of energy straight at the orb, blasting it to pieces.

"I activate Ally Bomb's effect," the Ghost declared. "Since you destroyed Ally Bomb with a LIGHT Monster, I destroy Intercept Daemon and Material Dragon!" At that point a red aura formed around the bodies of the two monsters; but before that Kyojo dropped a card from his hand.

"Sorry, but by discarding 1 card, Material Dragon can negate a monster-destroying effect and destroy it. Therefore, Ally Bomb's effect is lost!"

"Is that what you think?" The Ghost questioned, getting the jump on Kyojo. "I activate a Trap Card, Ally Shock; and this effect negates the effect of a LIGHT Monster and lets me draw one card!" As the Robot pulled one card, Kyojo watched in horror as the monster before him and the monster before Jack were blown to pieces, leaving nothing to protect them.

"Damn it, I blew that one," Kyojo realized. "I got too cocky, and forgot that Allies were anti-LIGHT." Reaching into his hand, he pulled out two cards from it and slammed them down, adding, I end my turn."

"Draw," a second Ghost declared, placing its card onto the tray instantly. "Speed Spell Vision Wind! I bring back from my Cemetery the Ally Bomb (ATK: 400, LV: 2)!" In a flash of light the small machine reappeared on the Ghost's field; and then the previous one flipped a card that got everyone's attention.

"Trap Card Open!" It declared. "Ally Barrage! When an Ally Bomb is Special Summoned, both players Special Summon as many Ally Bombs as possible from their Deck."

"Which means I Special Summon 3 Ally Bombs!" the Ghost declared, bringing into play three more of the orbs before holding up a card. "Next, I Release one Ally Bomb and Advance Summon Ally Mind (ATK: 1800, LV: 5)!" One of the orbs then disappeared into light as a new orb – a black one with many wires and plugs on its body – came into play, electricity flying.

"Next, I Tune my Level 5 Ally Mind to 2 of my Ally Bombs!" In a sudden burst, the large black orb exploded to release 5 green rings; and the two smaller orbs exploded within them to release 2 white stars each, combining them into a column of light. "Synchro Summon! Ally of Justice – Field Marshall (ATK: 2900, LV: 9)!"

From this light then emerged a tall, white metal object with flat arms and several lights along its body; this creature then swung its ram back and thrust it at Kyojo, striking him dead in the chest before the other object also came in and struck him. The resulting shockwave sent Kyojo crashing into the guard; and with that, only Jack and Judai remained riding.

"I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"It's my turn," another Ghost declared, pulling yet another card.

**Card of the Week – Taiyou**

**Magician's Deathscythe**

**Type:** DARK

**Level:** 8

**Family(s):** [Magic User/Synchro/Effect]

**Effect:** Magic User Tuner + 1 or more Magic User non-Tuner Monsters

When this card is Synchro Summoned, place 2 Magic Counters on it. When this card destroys a monster by battle ad sends it to the Cemetery, activate by removing up to 2 Magic Counters from this card and selecting 2 monsters whose DEF are les than the DEF of the destroyed monster. Destroy those cards.

**ATK/** 2800

**DEF/** 1300

*Thing are getting serious fast… Review if you wish.*


	30. Alessandro and the Circuit of Infinity

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 30 – ****Alessandro and the Circuit of Infinity**

"I activate Speed Spell – Summon Speeder," the newest Ghost declared, pulling a card rom his hand and throwing it down. "I Special Summon Ally of Justice – Unlimiter (ATK: 600, LV: 2)!" With this a teardrop-shaped grey metal machine appeared in front of the Ghost, just as he pulled another card.

"I also Summon Ally of Justice – Garadholg (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)!" Placing the card onto the tray called up an orange robot with two plasma-bladed swords and a face like a visor. "Next, I release my Ally of Justice – Unlimiter and double the power of my Garadholg for this urn (ATK: 3200)!" With the monster called out, he dissolved it into energy and the other monster grew stronger, signified by a grunt.

"Trap Card Open: Demon's Chain!" Jack declared, flipping up one of his cards in a desperate panic; but before it worked, the Ghost who had received a turn already lashed out.

"Trap Card Open: Trap Stun! For this turn, I negate the effect of all Trap Cards on the field!" With a shocked sigh, Jack's trap simply spun around into the standby mode; though it was still up, its effect was inactive as he watched the monster swing. Shooting forward, his D-Wheel was struck by the blade and sent crashing onto its side, spinning away and leaving Judai along with the Ghosts.

"_What am I to do?"_ Judai questioned. _"We've lost so much energy that these duels are taking us out before our Life Points even expire. Even if I take out a few Ghosts, I can't beat them all at once; and even if I could, more will come and I'll succumb to weakness."_

"Hey, that's not fair play!" Judai heard Yusuriha's voice yell out, snapping him out of his funk in time to see Yusei's, Yusuriha's and Kiryu's D-Wheels come flying over the guard and onto the track beside Judai, entering the Infinity loops as they did so.

"Hey, great timing!" Judai nodded to the three smiling friends of his, noting that they all had 4 Speed Counters from a previous duel of this type. "Jack and Kyojo can't continue, so it's down to us."

"On it!" Kiryu and Yusuriha said in unison, the Wrist Dealers of all three duellists shuffling their Decks and dealing them 5 cards each.

"It's my turn!" Yusei yelled, reaching into his Wrist Dealer and pulling a card. "I send one monster from my hand to the Cemetery to Special Summon Quick Synchron (ATK: 700, LV: 5)!" With this action Yusei called out his blue cowboy-like robot, which fired off its two guns as Yusei reached his Cemetery.

"Next, I Exclude Tuning Mechanic, and I Special Summon a Level 2 or lower Machine-Type Monster from my hand. Come, Tuning Supporter (ATK: 100, LV: 1)!" When the monster came into the field, Yusei further took a card and yelled, "Next, I activate Speed Spell – One Force! I Special Summon 2 more of a Level 1 monster in face-up Attack Position!" Slapping the two cards onto the tray, he called out two more of the yellow robot.

"I Tune my Level 5 Quick Synchron, as Road Synchron, to my Level 1 Tuning Supporters!" Turning on the red, green and blue lights on its chest, the robot projected the forms of eight cards spinning in a circle; it then shot the image of the one Yusei had named, shattering it and making the others fade out.

After this, the monster rose up and simply turned into 5 green rings, which the three monsters flew into and changed into a column of light within. "Clustering hopes will call upon a brand new horizon," Yusei chanted. "Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Dash onward, Road Warrior (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!"

In a quick flash, the cream-coloured warrior with red eyes, a projector on its back and claws on its wrists appeared, grabbing its shooter and bringing it up to fire a beam. "Due to this effect, I Special Summon Needle Gunner from my Deck (ATK: 100, LV: 1)!" from that light then emerged a purple warrior with a spiked head and spiked tips to its arms; and the Yusei drew the three cards from his earlier effects, holding one up.

"I Summon Synchron Explorer (ATK: 0, LV: 2)!" Yusei then called up a round-bodied red robot with stocky limbs and a hole in its body; this hole glowed and released the blue robot from a second ago, guns at the ready. "Next, I again Tune my Synchron, this time as Junk Synchron!"

Shooting off its gun, the robot became 5 white orbs that became green rings, surrounding the other two monsters and turning them into a column of light. "The clustering fighting spirits will invoke the raging wicked God. Become the path its light shines upon! Synchron Summon! Obliterate, Junk Destroyer (ATK: 2600, LV: 8)!"

In a flash of might, the brand new monster, with its four arms and many blades and spikes, fired bursts from its fists straight into the two set cards on the fields of the two Ghosts that still had them. "Battle!" With this the two monsters shot straight at two of the Ghosts that had not yet had turns, dealing them damage instantly.

"I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Draw!" Judai finally yelled, looking at his hand and acting instantly. "I Summon Bubbleman (ATK: 800, LV: 4), and draw 2 cards!" As son as the blue warrior appeared on his field, Judai snapped up two cards and took them, along with one from his hand, and spun them around.

"I activate Speed Spell – Speed Fusion, and I Fuse Bubbleman, Necro Darkman and Wildman!" With the two mentioned monsters appearing beside his, Judai watched them fuse into a ball of light, only to release a huge red-armoured warrior with turbine-like structures on its shoulders and face, giving it a cyclopean appearance.

"Come, Vision Hero Trinity (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" Judai declared, getting the approving glares of the rest of the group. "Next, this new Hero's strength becomes twice its power (ATK: 5000); and also, it can attack thrice." Glaring, he snapped his fingers and added, "I equip Jack's Assault Spirits to my Trinity!"

"What?" the Ghosts asked, seeing Judai spin around his D-Wheel to face them.

"I discard Cross Porter (ATK: 5400), and I attack Ally Bomb!" The monster then shot a red laser beam from its face, shooting the orb instantly and causing the D-Wheel to explode likewise. "Due to Cross Porter's effect, I add Black Panther to my hand; then, I attack again and discard it (ATK: 6400)!"

With a mighty leap, the red warrior shot over to the small orange robot and punched it in the torso, exploding it and carrying the shockwave to the D-Wheel. With that the second Ghost exploded, leaving only four left – on par with the crew's count.

"Let's go!" Kiryu yelled, pulling a card from his Deck. "I set 3 cards, and I activate Speed Spell – Summon Speeder! Come, Infernity Beetle (ATK: 1200, LV: 2)!" In this flash Kiryu called out his black and green beetle, which made a clicking noise.

Standing on the platforms of their two thrones, Placido (now again dressed in his robes but with his mechanical eye still exposed) and Jose gazed down upon a circular screen that depicted a rather unique site. Several different coloured blips existed on a screen depicting Neo Domino City's highways; green for the Riding Roids, and red for all other signatures. They watched as several of the red lights went out, signifying the end of a duel; and as this happened, the sections where they had been started to light up yellow.

"The Diablo Project seems to be going according to plan," Placido said to himself, slightly smirking as he did so. "Well Jose; it seems you were wrong about my Riding Roids. They're doing their job flawlessly."

"Only because the Signers fight so stubbornly against them," Jose replied, indicating several red blips larger than the others which passed by several green blips as those went out. "And look; your Riding Roids cannot defeat the Signers, even in swarms."

"That doesn't matter," Placido stated nonchalantly as the sections lit up anyway. "Even if the duels do not end with a defeat, the energy is still captured. Win or lose, the Signers will complete the circuit for us."

Suddenly, both men's attention turned to an alarm-like sound as another spherical screen appeared, above their heads, and depicted Neo Domino hospital covered in a blue circuit-board pattern. "Unidentified signature detected?" Jose questioned just as the screen changed to depict the inside of the hospital. "What on earth is this?"

On the inside of the building, the two men could see several patients and nurses being assaulted by what looked like Riding Roids without D-Wheels, losing duels and falling on their knees in weakness. "Why would you release your robot hordes upon a hospital?" Jose questioned critically, turning to a surprised-looking Placido. "You should know better than anyone that the ill have little energy to offer."

"Those are not by robots," Placido denied, indicating the blue glow in their eyes instead of the green glow which Placido's held. Turning bitter-looking instantly, he hissed and added, "That Alessandro… he's responsible for this. He couldn't just do as I told him. Where is he?"

Suddenly, the screen shifted to show Alessandro walking down a hallway, a dark sneer on his face; but in a split second, Placido's eye glowed red and the image of a screen appeared before Alessandro, Placido's face on it looking at the man. "What do you want?" the man asked impatiently. "I have work to do."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Placido barked at him, showing real anger on his face. "I gave you a very simply instruction; retrieve Lucciano and return to base. Instead you decide to waste time and resources draining all then energy from those who have none to give."

"At least I'm doing something to collect energy!" Alessandro snapped at Placido. "Ever since Lucciano was decommissioned, you two have done nothing but piss around and accomplish nothing! We'll never complete a circuit unless energy is collected. Besides, this will allow us to harness the energy of Paradox within this building."

"That's not the point." Placido hissed scathingly. "I gave you a direct order, one I expect to be obeyed. If I had wanted you to collect energy, I would have given you that instruction. Do as I tell you, or you will live to regret it. Keep in mind that I'm the one who gave you this life, and I can just as easily take it back away if you force me to."

"You think I'm scared of two old decrepit pieces of scrap-metal like you and Jose?" Alessandro shouted back. "I have things to do; fuck off until I'm done." With that the screen in front of Alessandro was smashed by his fist, causing the screen above the heads of Jose and Placido to go dead instantly.

"Why you…!" Placido yelled angrily, blasting the screen with his laser eye and exploding it. Sparks then flew down from the shattered energy sphere, shocking Placido and making him shudder a bit from the recoil of his wiring being shorted.

"We can deal with him in due time," Jose said calmly to Placido, attempting to temper his partner before he lashed out at him too. "For you we have to watch and see what happens." Though this comment got Jose a hateful glare from Placido, it amounted to nothing as the damaged entity simply sat down in his throne, looking back down at the circuit.

Inside the Neo Domino hospital, one of the patient rooms suddenly had its door go flying open as one of the X-Units passed straight through one of the doors, Duel Disc still on as it walked up to one of the patients. "Interesting…" it stated in its mechanical voice. "This one will supply vast amounts of energy…"

Lying in the bed, sleeping, Hell Kaiser looked completely inert and without any sort of motion. Expecting to wake the man up, the robot reached for his shoulder to shock him awake; instead, a black aura surrounded Hell Kaiser's form and shot back at the unit in electrical bolts, shredding its form before the man's eyes snapped open.

"What is this siege I'm sensing?" Hell Kaiser asked aloud, pulling back the covers and standing up. The black aura then surrounded his hospital gown and changed into his regular black outfit, complete with Duel Disc; and he opened the nightstand drawer to take out his Deck and put it into place.

"Paradox… no matter how you ravage my body," he said to himself, "you will never crush my will to fight." Stepping over to the door, he turned the latch and stepped out into the hall, seeing the horde of about ten X-Units coming straight towards him with Duel Discs on. Sneering, Hell Kaiser held up his arm and his Duel Disc activated; then, he drew 5 cards and a robot to the same.

"Draw!" Hell Kaiser declared, taking his drawn card and one from his hand and holding them up. "I activate the Magic Card, Treasure of Harmony. I Discard the 1000-AK Dragunity – Acuris and draw 2 cards." Throwing the two cards into his Cemetery, he picked up his two new objects and then slapped one down.

"I Summon Cyber Dark Horn (ATK: 800, LV: 4)!" With this action, his brown dragon-like metal object came into play, a black aura between its four claws manifesting into a red and green dragon. "Due to its effect, it gains the ATK of the Acuris it has been equipped with (ATK: 1800).

"Next, the Permanent Magic, Dragon Honour Art. All Monsters equipped with Dragunity Monsters receive 500 more ATK (ATK: 2300). I set one card and end my turn."

"Draw," the first of the cybernetic entities declared, reaching for its Deck and grabbing a card. "I activate the Magic Card, Ancient Rules. Due to this card, I Special Summon 1 Level 5 or higher Normal Monster from my hand. Appear now, Ally of Justice – Clausolas (ATK: 2300, LV: 6)!"

Holding up the monster caused the image of a brass vulture-like machine with black feathers, beak and talons, red eyes and a tubing-like neck, to appear before the entity as he reached for another card. "Next I Summon Ally of Justice – Blind Sucker (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)!"

This next monster took the form of a red and orange bulb with a black screen, arms, six spider-like legs and two cannons, which looked as though it was guided only by radar. _"An Ally Deck..." _Hell Kaiser realized, looking down at his cards._ "I bet they're all the same way... The Anti-Light Strategy renders my Cyber Dragons vulnerable..."_

"Instant Magic: Limiter Remove!" the entity declared suddenly, holding up the card. "I double the power of my two Machines for this turn (ATK: 4600) (ATK: 3200)! This is it, Hell Kaiser Ryo! Battle! I attack Cyber Dark Horn with Clausolas! Justice Talons!"

As the monster shot forwards, talons first, Hell Kaiser made a swift motion and flipped over his only set card. "Trap Card Open: Power Wall! For ever card I send from my Deck to the Cemetery, I reduce my Battle Damage by 100 Points. I send 23 cards to the Cemetery, and cover my damage!"

Reaching for the cards of his Deck, he grabbed a huge stack of them and flung them into the air, causing each one to glow green. Eventually energy spread from all of them into a web-like barrier; and as the talons of the oncoming monster struck his creature, they destroyed only the attached dragon and bounced off the wall.

"This buys you only a few turns of time," the robot declared, pointing at his other monster. Seconds later, however, his monster burst into a huge explosion that caught him off guard, Hell Kaiser smiling at this turn of events as his electrified cards disappeared one by one. "What the…?"

"Then Acuris equipped to a monster is destroyed and sent to the Cemetery," Hell Kaiser explained, "such as by the effect of Cyber Dark Horn, I get to destroy one card on the field. I destroyed Blind Sucker, meaning you can declare no more attacks this turn."

"In the End Phase," the robot declared, "the effect of Limiter Remove destroys Clausolas." As he said this, a red aura consumed his monster and caused it to explode, leaving him without guard. "But, your Dark Horn has lost all of its extra power (ATK: 800)."

"Even so," Hell Kaiser pointed out, "I still have every advantage. My have more cards in hand, more cards in play, and a strategy ready to use. This will be no difficult task."

"That is not so," the robot corrected. "Your Deck contains a mere 9 cards. In Battle Royal Duels, having so few cards means enough enemies can simply stall you until you run out of cards, and lose."

"Then I think I too should get in on this duel," a familiar voice to Hell Kaiser suddenly stated. Turning around, he looked and saw a figure whom he could not believe was there…

"Direct attack with Stardust Dragon!" Yusei yelled, commanding his white dragon to shoot a bolt of white energy straight through the last remaining Riding Roid in their path. With this last threat eliminated, the four figures shot on towards the hospital, Crow still on Judai's D-Wheel.

"What happened?" Jack yelled out suddenly as he and Kyojo appeared from a side street and rejoined the pack, taking up spots beside Judai and Yusei.

"We had to defeat those Riding Roids without you guys," Judai responded. "What the hell happened to you guys?"

"The wheels locked on my ride," Kyojo explained, "and Jack lost all traction. Those Riding Roids must have done something funky with our vehicles. Sorry 'bout that."

"It doesn't matter now," Kiryu stated. "We're there." With a final swing all six riders shot off their vehicles, Judai taking Crow in his shoulders, and their rides all slid into place to park. Once this occurred, all of them headed straight for the door and threw it; and what they saw thet couldn't believe.

"Direct attack with Chimeratech Fortress Dragon!" Hell Kaiser yelled, firing a blast of clear energy from the mouth of a purple, segmented dragon straight through a lone X-Unit and clearing a path between him and the group.

"Kaiser," Judai said half-cheerily as Hell Kaiser's monster disappeared. "I see you've been holding down the fort." Hell Kaiser's response was to sneer confidently at Judai; but a second later he cringed and fell on his hand and knees, before getting straight back up. "What's wrong?"

"These Robots drained the energy of everyone inside," Hell Kaiser clarified. "I don't know of anyone else whose conscious; well, any living beings that are conscious, that is."

"What are you talking about?" Yusuriha asked out of nowhere, getting her answer when an elevator door opened and a figure dressed in purple robe-like clothes and black armour with gold trim stepped out. The striking bit for everyone, besides the long black and red hair and the face paint down from the eyes, was the mask; it looked almost exactly like the one worn by Endymion.

"Taiyou," Jack realized, just as the man raised his two fingers and motioned for everyone to come closer. "Where have you been, and why are you dressed like that?"

"There was a civil war in the Dominion World," he explained as everyone gathered around. "Endymion did not survive." As sorrowful expressions came over everyone's faces, he reached for his mask and pulled it off, to reveal his familiar yet new face to them.

On his chin, around his eyes and on his forehead, crimson face paint formed a runic pattern with two long blade-like pieces down from his eyes. Said features had now changed to feature yellow scleras, red irises and smaller, rhombus-shaped pupils; and no light was reflected from these eyes. Reaching around, he put his mask along his belt, at his right side, and he stepped back into the elevator with everyone in tow.

"We must hurry," Hell Kaiser warned. "I cannot be sure, but I believe that Paradox is somewhere inside this building. I know because I could sense Cyber End Dragons spirit; but it was different from before. Darker, more malice…"

"And if I'm right," Taiyou added, "then somebody was controlling these robots. An Infinity member whose aura is blue."

"That was Lucciano," Judai stated, recalling the duel from earlier. "But Lucciano lapsed into a coma and never recovered; so that can't be the case."

"Then somebody has taken her place," Yusei realized. "But who…?"

Bursting through the door to another patient's room, Paradox staggered into the chamber, keeping a hand on the wall the whole time. Due to all the intense duels he had been forced to fight, he had felt his own strength wane, and so now he could barely stand up due to exhaustion.

By the time he reached the far end of the room, he was standing before the form of a white-cloaked woman, with long red hair and a metal patch over her left eye. Without a doubt, he had found Lucciano; and now that he had here, he was determined to do her in.

Grabbing her by the throat with his left hand, he was surprised that she gave no sort of reaction; but he made nothing of it as he hoisted her above his head, nearly to the ceiling. In a twisting motion he spun her by her nack with his arm, and threw her at a wall opposite him. At first, he expected this move to snap her neck; but what he saw next actually surprised him.

When Lucciano's head hit the wall, her neck split open and revealed a huge bundle of wires and hydraulic lines, with a blue energy radiating through the wires. Instead of killing her, he had revealed something he never guessed; she was an android, and a very resilient one at that.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps coming near the room. Not wanting to get caught in his weakened state, he simply stood up straight and dissolved into his black aura. After he was gone, Alessandro stepped into the room, seeing one bed covered by a sheet and Lucciano's broken form lying slump against the wall.

"Damn it," he said under his breath, knowing that it would take precious time to restore her to any workable condition. "What a shame too; she was such a good member of our society. I'll repair her later; first, I have unfinished business."

Turning, he stepped over to the curtained-off bed and gripped the sheet, pulling it straight off the rings. What he discovered inside was that the person he was expecting to see was not there. Lying unconscious, Duel Disc and Deck on the side table, was Sherry; in rage, he threw the curtain aside and stood there, and angry look upon his face.

"That bitch isn't here…" he finally said under his breath, whispering his anger. "Where is she? I see her insolence continues beyond what I had expected."

"So you're the one responsible for this farce," Yusei's accusing voice suddenly issued to the man, causing him to stand up straight and turn to face them. When he did so, he saw the faces of the entire group staring back at him; including the face which made his own expression twist into anger.

"Alessandro…" Kyojo whispered out in surprise, recognizing quickly the man he had duelled before. Noticing the plate on the man's headband, bearing the symbol of Infinity, his face twisted into an angry cringe and he said, "Why you! You're a member of Infinity, and the one who sent these helpless people through hell."

"Such hot-headed ignorance astounds me," Alessandro replied callously. "If you're going to call us by name, we are the Three Emperors of Yliaster. I would have though the traitor would have told you that already." With that he instantly pointed, indicating Yusuriha, and added, "She could have told you everything you needed to know."

"We've played this game already," Taiyou replied strongly. "It worked about as well as your Riding Duel with Kyojo; you came close, but ultimately you lost because you simply weren't good enough."

"Ah, but on both occasions," Alessandro clarified, "we weren't doing as we seemed. The Deck I used against Kyojo was an old Deck one of the Riding Roids collected, one I decided to use to judge your abilities. And as for confronting Yusuriha, we chose her over the one truly withholding information."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jack inquired. "Nobody here is withholding any information." But as he said this, Taiyou's expression intensified as he looked at the smirking Alessandro; and taking note of this, Jack asked him, "What do you know?"

"For starters, he knew Placido better than any of the Summoners did," Alessandro explained. "Back when he played the role of a foot soldier for Yliaster. He also knew that Placido had the mark of Infinity on his eye patch; but most important, he knew the connection between Placido, the Brothers Godwin, and Maenou."

"Is this true?" Judai asked critically of Taiyou, who simply growled at Alessandro. "How dare your? You were sitting on this information this whole time? What else have you not told us?"

"Stop this," Taiyou threatened to Alessandro. "You know as well as I do that this is nothing more than a pack of lies. I did know Placido the best, that's true; but I knew nothing of Placido's connection with Maenou."

"Then perhaps you'd like to tell them about how you handed over the Aeons to Placido for safe keeping." This time only the two Summoners gave looks at Taiyou; but they then redirected them to Alessandro and Kyojo blurted,

"Try again, Hos. Those cards were still in our possession after Taiyou got disembodied. This pack of lies you're feeding us is nothing more than bullshit meant to rile us all up; well we're not fallin' for it, so just shut your damn trap!"

"Such narrow-minded insolence," Alessandro stated disdainfully before raising a hand to Kyojo in an unfurled pose. In a split second Kyojo was sent flying back against the wall, knocking the wind from his lungs and just leaving him slumped against the wall, Alessandro chuckling darkly at this fact.

"Bastard!" Judai suddenly yelled, jumping forwards in a lunging pose as his eyes flashed into Yubel's. Alessandro threw up a punch to strike the man in the face, but Judai managed to lunge downwards and stand in front of him. Because Alessandro was nearly a foot taller, Judai was in perfect position to give an uppercut to Alessandro, causing his head to snap upwards and the man to stagger back.

"Take this!" In a split second Judai had shoved his fist straight into the left side of Alessandro's chest; but instantly Judai felt the sensation of his bones and muscles trembling in pain from the impact. Taking advantage, Alessandro brought his hands together and shoved Judai downwards with a hit to the dome of his head; then, an upwards-moving knee to the face sent Judai flying onto his back.

"Stop this!" Yusuriha yelled, running forwards and stepping in front of Judai. She then outstretched her arms and held her ground, showing Alessandro that she would not budge as Judai pushed himself up and into a standing position. His eyes still changed to Yubel's, Judai immediately turned to Yusuriha.

"Get back," Judai warned his partner, sounding just as stern as she just had. "I won't let you put yourself in harm's way for me."

"And I won't let one of my friends get hurt so he can be a lone wolf and die for my safety," Yusuriha shot back, pulling her Duel Disc onto her arm and activating it. "Alessandro, let's settle this properly; if I win, you leave us be!"

"Very well," Alessandro said, his blue eye and his robes starting to glow blue. "But should I win, you come with me back to Yliaster." Flexing his muscles, Alessandro grunted and his sleeves, front cloth, cape and hood exploded into blue energy dust, his robe flying open like a trench coat to reveal a navy undershirt as the Infinity belt re-fixed itself under his coat.

Reaching onto his back, Alessandro took one of the two sections of his Infinity bands and moved it across his left arm, slashing through the fabric and fixing to, of all things, a mechanical arm. The energy floating around then filled in the trapezoidal band to create a beam of blue energy; then the top of his arm stretched upwards, creating a Deck Zone and a Cemetery slot.

"Mechanical limbs," Judai realized, "and I'm guessing a metal chest plate too." Stepping back over to where the rest of the group was, he and Yusei both reached and helped Kyojo to his feet, where the man brushed dust off of his trench coat.

"He's a robot, like Placido and Lucciano," Taiyou then added, getting a smirk from Alessandro as the man loaded his Deck.

"You wanna find out?" Alessandro asked, he and Yusuriha both drawing hands. "Then you'll have to wait." With that he and Yusuriha locked eyes and yelled,

"DUEL!" Once this was yelled, a blue Infinity symbol briefly flashed and surrounded both combatants for a few seconds; then, it faded out.

Yusuriha: LP 4000

Alessandro: LP 4000

"I take the first turn," Yusuriha insisted, pulling a card and spinning it around. "I Summon XX-Sabre Fulhelmknight (DEF: 1000, LV: 3)." Taking up a crouching position, Yusuriha's young female knight in leather armour and carrying a segmented whip turned blue as Yusuriha reached for another card.

"I activate the Magic Card, To Arms. Due to this card, I add 1 Level 3 or lower X-Sabre Monster from my Deck to my hand. I select XX-Sabre Emmersblade." Once said monster had been named, her Deck slid out the card instantly and she picked it up, her Deck shuffling afterwards. Then, she took that card and two others, holding them up and showing them all.

"Magic Activate: Treasure of Golden Swords. When only 1 X-Sabre exists on my field, I send 2 X-Sabre Monsters with levels equal to or lower than that monster's from my hand to the Cemetery, and draw 2 cards. I discard XX-Sabre Emmersblade and a second XX-Sabre Fulhelmknight."

Once these cards had been thrown into the Cemetery slot, she picked up three cards one by one; then, she took the middle card and one from her hand, and placed them on her rear tray. "Lastly, I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"An impressive opening move," Alessandro commented. "Just as to be expected by a Summoner, and an Yliaster member going back almost as far as me. Draw!" When he saw his card, he smiled and took another card from his hand, placing it on the tray. "I Summon Infinity Soldier (ATK: 1400, LV: 1)." With Judai cringing, Alessandro called up the animated pieces of armour from X's Duel with Judai.

"Next, I activate the effect of Angel's Gift from my hand," Alessandro stated. As he pulled three cards from his Deck, he took two from his hand already and threw them away; after that, he pointed to his monster and sneered.

"The controller of Infinity Soldier cannot summon monsters," Alessandro stated. "But once per turn, I can equip 1 opposing effect monster with 1000 or less ATK to Infinity Soldier, increasing its ATK by that of the equipped monster."

"Fulhelmknight has 1300 ATK though," Yusuriha calmly pointed out, "So your effect is completely moot."

"Not with this card in my hand," Alessandro countered, placing a card face-up on his tray. "Instant Magic: Half Shut! For this turn, Fulhelmknight's ATK is halved (ATK: 650) and it cannot be destroyed by battle. Now go, Infinity Soldier, absorb Fulhelmknight!" Upon command the suit of armour lunged forward, sword pointed straight at the opposing monster; but Yusuriha simply snapped her fingers and a card popped up.

"Trap Card Open: Gatmuz's Urgent Orders! When an X-Sabre Monster is in play, I may Special Summon 2 from either Cemetery. Come: Fulhelmknight (DEF: 1000, LV: 3)! Emmersblade (DEF: 800, LV: 3)!" On either side of the targeted warrior came another one of the monster, as well as the mantis-like monster with two blades from her duel with Placido.

However, the sword of the monster still connected with its target, shattering it and making the pixels flood into the armour. Within seconds the form of the female warrior was within the shell (ATK: 2700), its sword growing the long whip. "Now, I attack Fulhelmknight with Infinity Soldier!"

"Sorry," Yusuriha countered, her female monster's whip striking the metal monster and knocking it back, "but one time only I can negate an opposing monster's attack. Therefore, your attack accomplishes nothing."

"Very well," Alessandro snarled, realizing his own card had been used against him. "I set 2 cards and end my turn." _"I never expected this to be an easy duel; but already this girl has given me the kind of fight that makes my soul truly burn."_

"Draw!" Yusuriha yelled, snapping her card into her hand and pointing into the air. "I tune my Level 3 Fulhelmknight to my Level 3 Emmersblade!" Swinging its whip around, the female warrior created a three-layered spiral the created three green rings; these surrounded the insect and created three white orbs, followed by a column of light.

"Synchro Summon! XX-Sabre Hyunlay (ATK: 2300, LV: 6)!" Slicing its way through the light, the female samurai with electronic weapons emerged, generating energy along the blade and swinging it back.

"When this card is Synchro Summoned, I can destroy up to 3 Spell or Trap Cards on the field. Since that's exactly how many you have, I'll leave you completely defenceless!" Slashing forwards, the female warrior sent all of its energy flying into the three opposing cards; but with a dark smile, Alessandro flipped all his set cards.

"Trap Cards Open: Core Extraction and Infinity Gate! First to resolve, the Gate allows me to release an Infinity Soldier to call out a Core with the same level. I choose Sky Core (ATK: 0, LV: 1)." The mechanical monster then faded out into particles, shattering the monster within; and then the blue egg-like object appeared before him, opening to reveal all its crystals.

"Next, by skipping my Battle Phase, I draw 2 cards and destroy my Sky Core!" Watching everyone gasp, Alessandro picked up 2 cards from his Deck and watched his core burst into a blue column of light; then, he took 5 cards from his Deck and put them into play, watching the silhouettes form.

"Due to Sky Core's effect, I call forth Machine Emperor Skiel Infinity (ATK: 0, LV: 1), Skiel Top (ATK: 600, LV: 1), Skiel Attack (ATK: 1000, LV: 1), Skiel Guard (DEF: 300, LV: 1) and Skiel Carrier (ATK: 400, LV: 1)!" The energy then exploded to reveal the blue bird's head-like orb, the hummingbird-like object, the dandelion seed-like object, the bug-like object and the strange sickly structure, causing everyone to look upon them in terror.

"Join as one: Machine Emperor Skiel (ATK: 2200, LV: 1)!" Opening its two panels under the Infinity symbol, the orb magnetized the hummingbird into it, folding it into a head and neck; then, the stick-like structure split in two and formed a pair of wings. The bug then unfolded into a tail, and the seed folded into a cannon, and both fused to the underside as the glowing red eyes of the beast looked upon Yusuriha in anger.

"That's Lucciano's Machine Emperor," Judai realized, remembering its two previous uses. Looking over upon the broken mechanical frame of Lucciano, he knew what had transpired and Alessandro simply sneered.

"I Summon X-Sabre Airbellum (ATK: 1600, LV: 3)," Yusuriha informed simply, trying to bring the topic of focus back to the duel as her lion-feaced humanoid with long metal claws came into play, growling at the opposing monsters. "Battle! I attack Skiel Top with Hyunley!"

Raising her sword, the female warrior them jumped up into the air to slash at the head of the monster; but much to Yusuriha's shock and chagrin, the tail of the monster swung around and blocked the sword, causing absolutely no damage to behold. "What is…?"

"Sorry to disappoint," Alessandro informed, sneering, "But once per turn, Skiel Guard can negate an opponent's attack. Therefore, your Synchro Monster's power is wasted."

"We'll see about that," Yusuriha yelled. "I attack Skiel Top with Airbellum!" Jumping up and forward, her monster swung its claws straight at the form of the monsters' head, as its previous counterpart did; this time though, a strange glowing shield with an Infinity Symbol on it speared, taking the strike and exploding. "What was that?"

"That was Infinity Gardna," Alessandro replied, holding up the card as he threw it away. "By removing from play this monster from my Cemetery, I negate an opponent's attack against a Skiel Monster. In other words, your attack is useless again." Just then the card dissolved into nothingness upon impact with the ground, leaving no trace of itself.

"Trap Card: Urgent Tuning!" Yusuriha suddenly declared, her trap flipping up. "With this card, I tune my Level 3 Airbellum o my Level 6 Hyunley within the Battle Phase!" Clawing at the air, the lion-headed monster created three glowing claw marks that changed into green rings, surrounding the other monster and bursting it into a column of light.

"Come to me, Gatmuz (ATK: 3100, LV: 9)!" From the light then exploded the form of the gigantic monster, which instantly swung its sword at the opposing monster. As it went towards the wings of the monster, yet another shield appeared from Alessandro's Cemetery and took the hit, leaving Yusuriha alone.

"I set two cards and end my turn," Yusuriha stated in frustration, Alessandro simply sneering at the woman.

"Draw," Alessandro said passively, drawing his card and motioning at Yusuriha. "I activate Skiel's effect, and I absorb your pathetic Synchro Monster!" The Infinity Symbol on the chest of his monster then glowed blue and shot tentacles at the opposing giant; but then Yusuriha revealed a card, shocking Alessandro.

"Trap Card: Tuner's Mind! When a Synchro Monster is targeted, I return it to the Extra Deck and bring back its materials. Come: Airbellum (DEF: 200, LV: 3)! Hyunley (DEF: 1300, LV: 6)!" In a flash of light the monster split apart into its two component monsters. Thus, the tentacles simply dissolved, leaving the monster with nothing to show.

"That's certainly one way of dodging my blast," Alessandro stated, holding up a card. "But it's as much a farce as the rest. From my hand, I Equip Infinity Breaker to my Skiel Infinity!" Just the an orb-like machine with a drill and an Infinity symbol on it appeared in front of his monster, only to change into a drill-like cannon and fasten itself to the existing gun.

"Battle! I attack Airbellum with Skiel!" Charging up the cannon quickly, the machine blasted a beam of energy straight through the monster; then the blast struck Yusuriha, making her shake and eventually fall on her knees.

"Yusuriha!" Judai yelled, punching the wall out of frustration.

Yusuriha: LP 2000

Alessandro: LP 4000

"When a Monster equipped with Infinity Breaker attacks, Penetration Damage is inflicted," Alessandro revealed. "Now, I set one card, and activate my Life-Shaving Card Treasure." Once the man had picked up his 5 cards, he took one more and threw it down before saying, "Your turn."

Getting back to her feet by pushing off her knee, Yusuriha silently pulled her card and looked at it, seeing a way out. "I change Hyunley to Attack Position (ATK: 2300) and summon Rescue Cat (ATK: 300, LV: 4)!" This card called up a small grey cat with white and black stripes, wearing a hard hat and a whistle. "Next, I release this card and Special Summon from my Deck X-Sabre Airbellum (ATK: 1600, LV: 3) and XX-Sabre Dark Soul (ATK: 100, LV: 3)!"

In a burst of light, Yusuriha's monster vanished and was replaced by another of the lion-headed monsters, and a bear-like monster under a red cloak, carrying a scythe. "Next, I play Sabre Draw, and draw one card for each of my X-Sabres!" Once she had her three cards in hand, Yusuriha held out her hand and pointed to her two monsters.

"I Tune Airbellum to Dark Soul!" Roaring, the lion-headed monster became three green rings that surrounded the other monster, creating another column of light. "Come on, Hyunley! (ATK: 2300, LV: 6)" once another of the monsters appeared, it too slashed its sword at Alessandro's cards; and again, he flipped one.

"Trap Card: Threatening Roar!" With the card up, it, the drill, and the set card all exploded; but then the set card appeared again and he added, "Plus, thanks to Dummy Marker, I draw one card." Alessandro then picked up his fifth card; and Yusuriha simply looked on for a few seconds before gripping her hand tightly.

"I set 2 cards and end my turn." _"This might be my last turn, but I won't give up hope..."_

"Draw!" Alessandro yelled. "Now, Skiel, Absorb Hyunley!" With a mechanical screech, the monster again shot tentacles, these ones hitting and dissolving one of the two female warriors. The monster's form the appeared briefly behind him; but he also held up another card.

"I activate Sky Changer," Alessandro said. "With a Synchro Monster equipped to Skiel, I declare one card name, and if it's in the opposing Extra Deck I switch them. I choose Gatmuz!" Sneering, Alessandro dissolved the Synchro Monster he had and watched as the card slid from Yusuriha's Duel Disc into his own (ATK: 5300).

"Battle! I attack Hyunley with Skiel!" The gun then shot a huge blast of energy straight a Yusuriha, who only barely had time to flip a card before the impact.

"Permanent Trap: Declaration of Bushido! I halve Battle Damage from X-Sabre battles!" However, after this activation, Yusuriha was struck and sent flying straight into the opposite wall, knocking her out when she hit the structure.

**Card of the Week – Yusuriha**

**X-Sabre Hyunley**

**Type:** EARTH

**Level:** 6

**Family(s):** [Warrior/Synchro/Effect]

**Effect:** Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner "X-Sabre" Monsters

When this card is Synchro Summoned, destroy up to 3 Magic or Trap Cards on the field

**ATK/** 2300

**DEF/** 1300

*Sorry about how rushed this one was; I had a lot to get done. Review if you wish.*


	31. The Circles of Hell

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 31 – ****The Circles of Hell, Taiyou vs. Alessandro**

Inside the Infinity throne room at the Public Security Building, Jose and Placido had been sitting and watching the whole duel unfold; from Paradox's entry into the room to the point where Yusuriha had been struck. And by now, Placido's anger was simmering with the glare on his face.

"This is proof of human arrogance," Placido commented to Jose. "We gave him a simple instruction that he had to go and defy in the name of a simple-minded grudge."

"Do not give up on Alessandro yet," Jose responded calmly. "If he can bring us back Lucciano in a state where she can be salvaged, then it will not have been a total loss." Suddenly, a beeping noise sounded in the back ground and a new screen came up, giving the two an interesting view.

Riding among the Riding Roids, accelerating through them without so much as a challenge, Dark Glass' image and D-Wheel could be seen, shooting straight towards the Hospital area. Looking completely stunned, they realized that a basic oversight may have caused this to happen.

"Placido," Jose suddenly questioned, his voice sounding unusually confused, "how did you set up the detection system on your Riding Roids?"

"They're designed to target humans," Placido answered, "so that they don't accidentally challenge each other, or our own kind. Which would mean that that guy is…"

"Not necessarily," Jose countered. "Is it possible that he's using a cloaking device to evade your scanners?"

"Theoretically, yes; but if I'm right, that's not it at all…" With that the screen closed as Jose and Placido turned their attention back to the duel, and Placido thought to himself,_ "I knew I recognized you from somewhere... Who exactly are you, Dark Glass...?"_

"Yusuriha!" Taiyou and Judai yelled, the latter of them running across the room towards the fallen girl. When he did this, however, a blue flash of light occurred that shocked everyone to behold; then Judai fell face-down, his back smouldering.

Growing angry, Taiyou teleported around in front of Judai so that he could face Alessandro, getting there in the blink of an eye. When this happened, he saw another blue flash and held up his Duel Disc to block the blast; and when it was done, he saw the true cause of it. Looking at Alessandro's face, the area under his left eye was smoking; and as his bangs shifted, it was seen that his left eye was a glowing ball of plasma.

"You bastard," Taiyou hissed, his eyes growing thin and his mouth twisting into a raging pose. "Using your weapons on an unarmed man, using strong-arm tactics to claim victory… You're no duellist at all!"

"That tells me what a narrow-minded definition of duellist you have," Alessandro harshly replied, "considering you dare to step in and interrupt a duel in progress."

"Battle Royal Mode is still in place, is it not?" Taiyou questioned. "You never deactivated it, as I recall. Since she cannot continue that duel, it is my right to continue it from this point."

"Why would I agree to something like that?" Alessandro replied, bemused. "I've got that betraying bitch exactly where I want her; at my feet. There's no reason for me to accept a challenge from somebody who couldn't beat my associate, Placido."

"Associate?" Taiyou chuckled at the thought, keeping his stern face but also looking back with a level of amusement. "Your coming here as his errant boy to retrieve Lucciano, this Battle Royal Mode; it looks to me like you're nothing but Placido's bitch."

"How dare you!" Alessandro snapped, shooting another beam of energy from his eye straight at the slumped-over Yusuriha. In response, Taiyou held up his hand and stopped the energy beam cold, reflecting back the shockwave and cracking the plating on his shoulders and legs.

"This is not the behaviour of a Duellist at all!" Taiyou yelled angrily. "If you truly have any sense of honour, you'll let me continue this little grudge match you have going!" Looking back angrily, blood coursed from under his metal eye and over his mouth, Alessandro growled for a second; but then, he sneered and straightened up.

"You'd better finish this match," he commanded. "I won't win by default; that would prove that miserable humans like you used to be are far too weak to be concerned with. If it weren't for people like you, Placido and Jose would never have been sent here; but at the same time, you're quite useful for our cause."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Taiyou asked, not getting a response before the Infinity symbol flared again and surrounded the two men. After that, Taiyou activated his Duel Disc and drew 5 cards, putting them into his tray as 3 cards suddenly generated into his Duel Disc.

"Because Taiyou is taking Yusuriha's place," Yusei realized," he gets all the cards she had in play; but Alessandro still has Skiel (ATK: 5300, LV: 1) in play, in addition to his 5-card hand."

Taiyou: LP 4000

Alessandro: LP 4000

"To conclude my turn," Alessandro jumped in, looking back at his cards, "I set 2 cards to end my turn." Once the two cards had joined his tray, Taiyou looked down at his own hand with a look of confidence; then, he gripped onto his Duel Disc and snapped up a card.

"It's my turn," he started, pointing at the now-glowing card on his field from Yusuriha's duel. "And in my Standby Phase, I activate Declaration of Bushido's effect. After XX-Sabre Hyunley battled, this card gained a Counter; by sending this card to the Cemetery while no monsters exist on my field, I draw one card!"

"Go ahead and draw," Alessandro stated cockily as Taiyou snatched up a seventh card, the former crossing his arms as he did so. "With Skiel on my field, you've got no chance of victory."

"We'll see," Taiyou stated. "I call forth my Summon Priest (DEF: 1600, LV: 4)!" With the card down onto his middle tray, Taiyou's creature appeared as a purple-robed monk with a long white beard and glowing red eyes, who crossed its arms as it appeared. "Next, I activate my Field Magic: Village of the Magic Tribe!"

With the fulcrum of the three blades releasing its Field Zone, Taiyou put down the card that called up the serene, forested area filled with small houses that gave it a look of complete tranquility. "Now, since a Magic User exists only on my field, you cannot activate any Magic Cards.

"Next, I activate Summon Priest's effect. By discarding Magical Blast from my hand, I Special Summon Crusader of Endymion from my Deck (ATK: 1900, LV: 4)!" In an instant Taiyou's monster was joined by the beige-clad, blue-armoured warrior in a flash of energy; and then, Taiyou held up another card.

"I equip Superbis to my Crusader of Endymion!" with this card in play, Taiyou called up a red aura that covered his monster; then, another card appeared from his hand and he yelled, "Next, I Summon Disenchanter of Endymion!"

"You've already Normal Summoned this turn," Alessandro criticized. "Which means you're either a complete moron, or you're trying to cheat me; either way, nice try but won't happen."

"Ah, there is none so blind as they who will not see," Taiyou scorned. "This isn't a Normal Summon at all." With a look of confusion on Alessandro's face, he watched in surprise as the Infinity Symbol on his monster opened up and the form of the magician Tuner shot out from it to Taiyou's field.

"What… how did you…?"

"Disenchanter of Endymion can only Special Summoned from the hand by sending 1 face-up Magic Card from the field to the Cemetery," Taiyou explained. "Since Gatmuz was equipped to Skiel, it was treated as a Magic Card. Now that said card is gone, Skiel loses the power it gained (ATK: 2200)."

With Alessandro fuming in rage, Taiyou pointed up and yelled, "I tune my Level 4 Disenchanter to my Level 4 Crusader!" Jumping into the air, his smaller magician changed into 4 green rings that his other monster jumped into, changing it into 4 white orbs and creating a column of light.

"The soul of the Great Sorcerer shall now cross over," Taiyou chanted, "to cast off the mortal coil and gain the enchanted wings of a might dragon! Come to my aid! Synchro Summon! Soar onwards, Stardust Dragon (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" In a quick blast of light, a version of Yusei's white dragon appeared; one with a crimson glow over the lines of its body.

"Since the monster equipped with Superbis was sent to the Cemetery," Taiyou explained further, "I can call a Magician back up! Come on: Crusader (ATK: 1900, LV: 4)!" In a burst of orange energy, the magician warrior from a second earlier burst back up, joining the sacred dragon beside Taiyou.

"Battle! I attack Wisel Top (ATK: 600, LV: 1) with Crusader of Endymion!" Jumping forwards and up, the warrior thrust its fist forward for a strike; but (predictably), the tail of the winged machine jumped into the way of the strike, causing no damage to be dealt.

"Did you forget that Skiel Guard can negate a single attack each and every turn?" Alessandro chastised, sneering. "You may not be alive anymore, but you still haven't transcended humanity's hubris and ignorance."

"You should stop speaking ill if humans, Alessandro," Taiyou criticized, "considering that one just played you for a fool." Looking at Taiyou with a completely stunned look, Alessandro looked down at his Duel Disc as Taiyou added, "I still have Stardust to attack with, after all."

"Alright," Judai said under his breath, hoisting Yusuriha onto his shoulders and standing up to run back into line. "He's used the effect of Skiel Guard to block that weaker attack; meanwhile, Taiyou's Stardust can still swing."

"I activate a Trap Card," Taiyou shot out, flipping over one of Yusuriha's two original set cards and putting Alessandro into shock. "Go, Strike Slash! Sine Stardust is attacking, it gains 700 ATK for Damage Calculation (ATK: 3200); then, it inflicts Piercing Damage! Go, attack Skiel Guard (DEF: 300, LV: 1)! Shooting Sonic!"

Rising into the air, the dragon beat its wings before shooting a blast of crimson air at a speed faster than sound. When the tail of the machine coiled around again, the blast cut straight through it and caused it to explode, the blast continuing on and blasting through the metal plate on Alessandro's left thigh.

Taiyou: LP 4000

Alessandro: LP 1100

"Oh my God," Judai said aloud, his shock mirrored on Taiyou's face at the sight revealed. The bottom half of Alessandro's thigh was a section of plated, bolted dark-grey metal, fashioned into shape; above that, the bloody, jagged-edged stump of a flesh thigh was attached to it by wires and bolts, creating a painful-looking join.

"Such wounds," Alessandro passively said under his breath, reaching for his chest and shoulder plates and grabbing them. Pulling them off as a single unit, they and the trench coat-like cloak were put aside to reveal a similar configuration with the left side of his chest and neck; his left shoulder was attached to this, while his right shoulder was still flesh until about two inches into his arm.

"What… happened to you?" was the question that escaped Yusei's lips in a low, stunned voice, prompting Alessandro to turn around and reveal to Taiyou a metal spine fused to the skin. "So many injuries like this… are they the reason you hate humans? Are they why you sided with Placido and his minions?"

"These injuries are the proof of human cruelty and ignorance," Alessandro replied, his plasma eye shimmering in synch with his face twitching. "Jack, Kyojo; you two remember me saying I was from Bommer's village, don't you?" When the two of them nodded, he looked down in a solemn look and continued, sounding sombre.

"When Godwin attempted to Summon the Crimson Dragon, and the Dark Signers sacrificed the town to summon the Earthbound Gods; both times, many people from there were killed. I was one of the few who survived; though I wish I had not."

"You lost your body in the attack?" Yusei questioned, getting only a solemn head-shake in reply.

"No; when I heard that Bommer had survived, I tried to follow him to find out what was next for us. It was there that I discovered the Yusei Project and Momentum… and the power to become an Immortal Dark Signer."

"You tried to become one forcefully?" Crow questioned. "Godwin tried that, didn't he? But he was successful."

"That was because of Godwin's drive, and the darkness it created," Alessandro informed. "I learned all-too-late that my desires didn't constitute a Darkness of Heart; my soul was pure. In an act of anger, my body was ravaged by the evil of the King of the Underworld, reducing me to a dying sac of flesh."

"Is that when Placido and Jose found you?" Taiyou questioned, making Alessandro turn back around to him and put back on his cloak and metal plates. "Placido saved your life that day; it was only honourable to join him."

"I would do anything to repay that debt," Alessandro stated in agreement. "And when Placido told me that we had received a mission from God, that it was our goal to remove the wicked ones from this world; I knew then, that we were doing a service and making the tragedies of mankind not in vain!"

"The evil ones?" Crow blurted out, looking at him strangely. "What the fuck are you talking about? We're not evil!"

"No; but you insist on getting in the way of our mission!" Alessandro snapped, growing intense again. "Back to the duel. Since Skiel Guard is destroyed, Skiel Infinity loses some power (ATK: 2000)."

"In my Main Phase 2," Taiyou stated, looking at his hand for a second, "I set one card. In the End Phase, Stardust loses its extra ATK (ATK: 2500); and with that, I end my turn."

"Let's go!" Alessandro stated strongly, snapping up a card from his Deck with lightning speed and slamming it onto the tray. "I Summon Skiel Guard 3 (DEF: 900, LV: 3)!" In a flash, a long centipede-like creature with four extremely lone feather-like legs appeared, its face folding together and joining to the monster to create a new tail.

"With is new part in play (ATK: 2400), I activate Skiel Infinity's effect! Once per turn, I absorb my opponent's Synchro Monster! Come to my, Stardust!" As with before, blue tentacles of energy shot from the Infinity symbol of the machine; but before they reached it, the dragon vanished into thin air. "What? What is this?"

"I activated my Permanent Trap," Taiyou declared, showing Alessandro his own card. "By excluding a Synchro Monster I control when it is targeted, Dimensional Slip allows me to draw 2 cards." As he snatched up the cards into his hand, he watched Alessandro sneer as the man held up yet another card.

"I activate my Trap Card: Sky A3! I send Skiel Attack to the Cemetery, and I summon Skiel Attack 3 from my hand (ATK: 1200, LV: 3)!" Disappearing into a flash of blue, the machine gun was replaced by a dragonfly-like object that folded in half, its body becoming a laser cannon that attached to the monster already in play.

"Next, I send Skiel Attack 3 to the Cemetery and Special Summon Skiel Attack 5 (ATK: 1400, LV: 5)!" Just then the brand new cannon disappeared as well, being replaced by a large beetle which folded into a more massive cannon and fixed in place (ATK: 2800). "And thanks to Skiel Attack 3's effect, I can attack your Life Points directly."

With Taiyou looking back at Alessandro with a dark glare, the man simply sneered as a blue burst of energy shot straight from the cannon through Taiyou's body, exploding it into ectoplasm which healed itself before Taiyou fell on his knees.

Taiyou: LP 1200

Alessandro: LP 1100

"How's that?" Alessandro asked his opponent mockingly. "Do you now understand the power of the Machine Emperor? You will never be able to surpass it!"

"Oh really?" Taiyou questioned, getting back onto his feet and staring back angrily. "Then I guess I'll have to defeat you out from under it! Finish your turn!"

"Very well. I place two cards face-down and end my turn." With his hand empty, Alessandro stared back at Taiyou while the opponent held his hand to the Cemetery; then, a card slid out, making Alessandro completely stunned.

"I activate the effect Magical Blast from my Cemetery," Taiyou explained, holding it up. "I skip my Draw Phase to add this card to my hand. Then, in my Standby Phase, I Special Summon Stardust Dragon which was previously removed from play (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!"

As Taiyou said this, a blue vortex appeared and the dragon flew through, flapping its wings and taking up place as he threw out a card. "Next, I discard Magical Blast for the effect of Summon Priest; and through that effect, I Special Summon Tuned Magician (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)!"

Out from the Deck, Taiyou's green flower-like Magician appeared, holding up its wand and gaining a green glow instantly as Taiyou said, "I also activate my monster's effect; my Second Summoning it, it becomes a Tuner. Therefore, I tune my Level 4 Magician to my Level 4 Crusader!"

Firing a blast from its wand, the green magician disappeared while the energy formed 4 green rings; the other magician then dove up into them, becoming 4 white orbs and then a pillar of light. "The darkness of the Sorcerer's might shall now take form, and envelop the enemy in true hell! Become the power of Death! Synchro Summon! Soul of Black Magic, Magician's Deathscythe (ATK: 2800, LV: 8)!"

As with before, Taiyou's black-cloaked magician look up form beside his larger dragon, the two orbs on its chest coming into glow (ATK: 3200) as its body took up a stance of battle. "Battle! Stardust Dragon, attack his Skiel Guard 3!" As expected, Taiyou's dragon fired its white beam of energy, only for the tail to swing around and intercept it instantly.

"Now that he's out of the way, I attack Skiel Guard 3 with Magician's Deathscythe! Genocide Burst!" Its scythe glowing black and red, the monster jumped up into the air and came crashing down upon the tail of the beast; however, this action simply resulted in the monster bouncing off, much to Taiyou's dismay. "What the hell is…?"

"Skiel Guard 3 has more going for it than a simple power bonus," Alessandro informed, sneering. "It can negate two attacks per turn, not just one." Watching Taiyou growl in frustration he added, "I know all about your monster and its effect to destroy monsters of less DEF than those it destroys; but Skiel will not fall to the likes of you."

"I set one card face-down," Taiyou stated simply, "and I end my turn."

"The let's bring the fun back then," Alessandro suggested slyly, drawing his card and looking at it only for a second before looking back to Taiyou's field. _"If I try to equip his Stardust to my Machine Emperor, he'll simply dodge the assault; so I'll force his hand."_

"Trap Card Open!" Taiyou yelled, showing off the card he had just set. "Buster Mode! With this card, I send Stardust to the Cemetery to invoke Stardust Dragon/Buster (ATK: 3000, LV: 10)!" In a flash of red light, panels of blue metal with glowing red orbs appeared around the chest, forearms, shins and wings of the dragon before Taiyou, creating a more powerful monster that roared strongly.

"By releasing this monster," Taiyou explained, "I negate a card effect's activation and destroy it. That means, if you try and attack directly with Skiel Attack 5's effect, I'll simply stop it cold."

"In that case," Alessandro sneered, "why don't I give you a chance to test it? I activate my Trap Card, Bomb Blast! By destroying up to 3 copies of a single Machine-Type Monster that did not battle this turn, I have you take damage equal to their level times 400. I choose to destroy Skiel Carrier!"

"What?" Taiyou asked just as the wings jettisoned themselves from the body of the gigantic machine, falling right in front of him before exploding into a blast that almost threw his back. _"I'll take that damage; I won't be made a fool of and lost Stardust that easily."_

Taiyou: LP 800

Alessandro: LP 1100

"With Skiel Carrier gone, my Skiel loses some attack points (ATK: 2400); however, I am prepared to replace them. I Summon Skiel Carrier 3 (ATK: 600, LV: 3)!" Showing off the new monster, he sneered as a butterfly-like creature with backward-facing bladed wings appeared, splitting in half and fusing its body to its wings. These then attached to the vacant wing ports of the monster, creating longer, stronger-looking wings.

"Due to this new monster," Alessandro explained, "the ATK of Skiel rises again (ATK: 3000). Battle! I attack Stardust Dragon/Buster with Skiel!" As a look of shock consumed Taiyou, the cannon from the giant machine fired and the dragon did the same; but while the cannon hit its target and shattered it, the dragon's burst simply deflected off the wings.

"What the hell was that?" Taiyou asked, watching as his Dragon's form rematerialized as his original dragon (ATK: 2500, LV: 8). "We had the same ATK, so you should have been destroyed as well!"

"Skiel Carrier 3's monster effect negates the first destruction of an Infinity Monster each turn," Alessandro explained, sneering. "Furthermore, I activate this Trap Card: Synchro Interest! Since Skiel destroyed a monster by battle, I draw 2 cards for every Synchro Monster you control, provided I control none of my own."

"Very well," Taiyou insisted, leaving Alessandro to draw 4 cards; but out of nowhere, he saw Taiyou snap up the same number of cards from his Deck and looked back in confusion. "Permanent Trap," Taiyou revealed, showing off Yusuriha's last set card. "Powered Destiny! Both players will now draw from draw card effects."

"That's no concern of mine," Alessandro responded. "This duel is mine. I set 3 cards and end my turn!"

"Then during my Draw Phase," Taiyou stated, "I once again return Magical Blast to my hand; then, I once again sacrifice it, and through Summon Priest I call out Magical Archer (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)!" Out of the light vortex created emerged Taiyous' magician with its glowing boy; then, he placed another card down and stated, "I also summon Apprentice of Endymion (ATK: 400, LV: 2)!"

"He's truly inherited Endymion's will," Judai realized, looking on as the dark-robed version of Taiyou, face hidden in shadows, stood up and pointed its staff to the sky.

"I Tune my Level 2 Apprentice to my Level 4 Archer!" Taiyou's smaller monster then show two bolts of energy and shattered; these bolts changed into green rings that the archer ascended into, swirling and creating a set of 4 white orbs that became a column of light.

"Dark messenger of enchanted gales," Taiyou shouted, holding up his arms as massive winds suddenly kicked up, "become the force of nature and descend upon us with your great rage! Synchro Summon! Disenchant, Magic Tempester (ATK: 2200, LV: 6)!" From the light appeared the form of a black-haired, blue-robed female magician with a long skull-like scythe, at the end of which an orb could be seen glowing.

"When this monster is Synchro Summoned," Taiyou revealed, "It gains one Magic Counter. Once per turn, I can remove all Magic Counters from my field, and inflict 500 damage to my opponent for each counter! I remove all three counters! Storming Burst!" In one shot a tornado formed from the three bolts and shot straight at Alessandro; but then a card appeared and absorbed the shot, causing his Life Points to actually rise.

"I activate Energy, Absorbing Tablet," he explained. "I negate the damage from an opposing card effect, and recover the same amount. Therefore, your little trick with your Magic Counters was fruitless; in fact, it weakened your monster (ATK: 2800) and raised my Life in one shot!"

Taiyou: LP 800

Alessandro: LP 2600

"I'm far from done! Taiyou shouted, holding up a card from his hand. "I activate Magic Seize! I place one Magic Counter on Deathscythe (ATK: 3000), and I add one Magic Seize to my hand!" With that the monster lit up a single orb on its body and another card shot into Taiyou's hand, before the man pointed at the opposing field. "I attack Skiel Guard 3 with Magic Tempester!"

"Your attacks are as frivolous as ever," Alessandro decreed, watching as the tail of his monster again swung around and blocked the attack instantly. "No matter how many Synchro Monsters you attack with, every shot will end in futility; that's just how far below me you are."

"We'll see about that. Stardust Dragon, attack Skiel Guard 3!" Jumping up into the air, Taiyou's Dragon shot its burst of energy again, which met with the same wall effect as the attack before it had. "Now, I attack Skiel Guard 3 with Magician's Deathscythe! With your monster's effect used up, this attack will get through!"

"Is that what you think?" Alessandro asked sneakily, watching as Taiyou's monster jumped to the air and came down upon the wings of his monster, which simply absorbed the impact and deflected the monster. "Sorry, but Skiel Carrier 3 can negate more than destruction; it can negate one opposing attack per turn."

"Whereas Wisel was completely offensively oriented," Yusei narrated to the group, recalling his duel with Ghost, "Skiel seems more defensive, using negation to protect it while it deals damage more slowly."

"I set 3 cards and end my turn," Taiyou said angrily, using up the last of his Magic and Trap Zones as Alessandro gripped the top of his Deck, snapping up a card instantly.

"I draw for my turn," Alessandro stated, a large energy blade forming overtop of him as he did, "but since it's been 5 Standby Phases since Life-Shaving Card Treasure was used, my hand is sent to the Cemetery." Holding up both the cards in his hand, he watched as the blade fell through them and cleaved them in half, causing them all to shatter into energy.

"He has no new options for this turn," Jack realized. "It seems Battle Royal Mode has finally paid out a dividend for starting against a full field. The effect from the duel with Yusuriha has cost him his whole hand."

"Trap Card Open: Fallen Angel's Gift!" Alessandro suddenly declared, snapping Jack back into a tense mood as the cards he had lost shot from his Cemetery. "During this turn, all cards discarded by an effect are returned to the owners' hands."

"What is this?" Taiyou suddenly questioned, looking at how completely strange this situation had become. "How can I defeat a constantly evolving strategy with the same Synchro Monsters I keep using?"

"That's the point I made earlier," Alessandro responded, sneering. "Synchro Monsters may have been new in your day, but by now they've become nothing but a crutch for humanity's weakest members. Those like Judai over there, who still do not use them, are shunned; in fact, they've made the wise choice."

"What is that garbage supposed to mean?" Kyojo questioned, getting the cold glare of Alessandro's plasma eye.

"Synchro Monsters are a power the world was not supposed to know; a Pandora's Box, if you will. It is Synchro Monsters that made duellists dependent on power; and it is that lust for more, that avarice, that shall bring about the end of this world at the hands of the wicked ones."

Turning back to Taiyou, Alessandro took one of his two cards and held it up. "By releasing Skiel Guard 3, I Special Summon Skiel Guard 5 from my hand in Defence Position (DEF: 1500, LV: 5)!" The tail currently on the monster then dissolved as a large dragonfly-like machine appeared, its wings folding around its lead to form feathers as its abdomen's tip mounted on the machine.

"Not only des this monster give Skiel more power (ATK: 3200), it can negate 3 opposing attacks per turn; so in other words, you'll never have the ability to pass my defences."

"That's insanity!" Judai hissed under his breath. "Two monsters can negate 4 attacks; at this rate, Taiyou's monsters will be completely sealed."

"Next, I send my Skiel Carrier 3 to the Cemetery, and I Special Summon Skiel Carrier 5 (ATK: 800, LV: 5)!" The wings on the monster then disappeared as a large squid-like machine appeared, splitting in half and attaching to either side of the machine as a pair of large paddle-like wings. "Now do you understand? The ability of Machine Emperors to grow stronger is infinite (ATK: 3400)!"

"All this extra power," Judai realized. "Taiyou cannot survive an attack from this thing!"

"Battle! I attack Magic Tempester with Machine Emperor Skiel!" Pointing its cannon straight at the female magician, a burst of blue energy then shot straight at the monster and through it; but when the blast reached Taiyou, he simply pulled one card from his Deck and shifted to dodge the blast.

When the energy had gone, Taiyou showed that a card was now face-up on his field; in this case, the card was Guard Block. "I've managed to avoid Battle Damage, so this duel is still in motion."

"Perhaps; but now I draw one card due to your Powered Destiny," Alessandro said sternly, snapping up one card from his Deck. "And next, Skiel Carrier 5 deals 300 points of damage when a monster is destroyed by battle and sent to the Cemetery by an Infinity monster!"

"What?" Taiyou barely had time to ask before blue electricity jumped off the wings of the monster, striking him and causing his form to go static for a few seconds while his Life Points fell further.

Taiyou: LP 500

Alessandro: LP 2600

"Trap Card Open: Afterglow of a Miracle!" Taiyou yelled, the card that had just gone to the Cemetery returning to his hand. "I Special Summon Magic Tempester from the Cemetery (ATK: 2200, LV: 6)!" In a flash the blue-robed monster returned to the field, holding her scythe at Alessandro as the man simply sneered.

"Do you think I fear such a move?" Alessandro asked, pointing his hand at yet another card on his field. "I activate Trap of Darkness! By paying 1000 Life Points, I exclude Bomb Blast from my Cemetery, and I use its effect to destroy Skiel Attack 5!"

"No!" Kiryu yelled. "If he destroys the wings, Taiyou will take 2000 damage! He cannot afford that now!"

"I activate my last Trap Card!" Taiyou yelled, snapping his fingers as the last card on his field showed itself. "I activate Strategy Control! When my opponent activates a card or effect that targets a Monster they control, I decide the target of that card. I choose for Bomb Blast to destroy Machine Emperor Skiel Infinity!"

"Alright!" Yusei said enthusiastically, raising his fist in cheer. "If Skiel Infinity is destroyed, the others pieces will follow suit; and he'll have a clean shot."

"I'd never let that happen," Alessandro countered, flipping over a card of his own. "Permanent Trap: Fork – Divergence! I change the target of a Machine-Type targeting attack or effect to another Machine-Type Monster whose Level is within the Level of the original target. Therefore, Bomb Blast will destroy Skiel Top!"

Shooting off the stock of the neck, the head-like structure of the robot shot at Taiyou and exploded in front of him, the shockwave slicing his form into fog as his Life Points fell. When it had finished, he pulled himself together, a look of total anger on his face.

Taiyou: LP 100

Alessandro: LP 1600

"You're down to the last wire," Alessandro observed, taking a card from his hand and smacking it down onto the tray. "I Summon Skiel Attack 3 (ATK: 800, LV: 3)!" Above the monster then appeared the form of a hummingbird-like object, whose wings and tail folded into a trio of frills on the back of the head while the torso became a neck and fused into the base of the large blue machine.

"Skiel's power will never stop increasing (ATK: 3600), not as long as Synchro Monsters exist in this world. And there's more; due to Skiel Top 3's effect, I receive no card effect damage, so anything you try to deal me will fall short of the goal. I end my turn."

"_This... this is hopeless..." _Taiyou thought to himself, falling on his knees and hands with tears in his eyes shut completely._ "I had one mission; to protect the people in my life. And I've failed miserably; Endymion and thousands of other Magicians died, Yusuriha and Kanako are harmed, and I'm powerless to help the others..."_

"That's it," Alessandro taunted of the kneeling magician. "Kneel, grovel before the true power of this world, the new world order. There's no longer room for the likes of you in this world. You had your chance to make things right, and you let the chaos spread. When we've finished cleaning up your mess, your friends are next."

"_Why did this happen to me?"_ Taiyou wondered, pounding the ground within his vision as one of the tears on his face fell, dripping and rippling onto said ground. A second later, however, Taiyou heard the sound of footsteps behind him; and standing up, he turned to see the form of Endymion, his Duel Disc on.

"You have despaired too soon my friend," Endymion stated. "Because you fight the fool's way; you fight alone." Taiyou's stare melting into a gasp, Endymion stated, "I fought alone my entire existence, and in the end it cost me everything. Don't dare make the same mistake."

"But… how do I…?"

"Your friends have never left your side, not for a second. Believe in their power and your own, and together these two strengths will bring victory into your hands. Believe…!"

Snapping open his eyes in the real world, Taiyou forced himself to his feet, the tears on his face turning to steam and evaporating. Looking down at his Deck, he placed his two fingers down upon it and thought to himself, _"This is it my Deck, the power of my bonds and friendships! Lend me your power!"_ "Draw!"

"What?" Alessandro asked. "You've not given up?"

"Far from it," Taiyou said, holding up a card from his hand. "I activate Magic Seize again, and I add another Counter to Deathscythe (ATK: 3200)!" When the new card was in his hand, Taiyou simply threw it into the Cemetery, his Deck glowing.

"Due to the effect of Summon Priest, I call out Frembell Magical (ATK: 1400, LV: 4)!" Once the card was onto the tray, a drab-coloured magician with a bald head and sharp red beard appeared, jumping into the air with his purple-robed monk instantly. "I Tune my Magical to my Summon Priest!"

When the monsters were up into the air, the newer one simply burst into a fireball and changed into 4 green rings as the other monster dove up into them, becoming a column of light. "Born from the soul of black magic, a dragon of great rage will descend and guide justice to the battle! Synchro Summon!"

Snapping his right hand out to the side, a card integrated into his hand in a quick flash of fire, and in an arc he smacked it into the tray to create a raging ball of fire. "The Great Demon Dragon, Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" Everyone then watched in amazement as Kyojo's version of the red and grey dragon arose from the fire, growling in rage as Alessandro took a step back.

"My Dragon…" Kyojo realized, knowing that it had been called upon by Taiyou. "Alright, Red Daemon's; you know what to do!" With a roar, the dragon acknowledged the command from its master and took up a battle pose beside its counterpart, behind the smaller magicians.

"I'm not done yet," Taiyou added. "I Summon Eccentric Boy (ATK: 800, LV: 3)!" From a blue vortex emerged the yellow-haired human-looking creature with red stick-like wings and marks on its face. "And now, by this monster's effect, I Tune my Eccentric Boy to the Level 6 Magician's Destroyer in my hand!"

"_Level 9?" _Yubel suddenly asked rhetorically within Judai's mind. _"Can it be that he is using the power of that monster?"_ She then watched through Judai's eyes as the monster turned into 3 green rings, surrounding the ghost-like form of Taiyou's hand monster and changing it into a column of light.

"Rise to arms, the strongest of magicians whose blade calls the power of nature itself!" Taiyou yelled. "Synchro Summon! Take up arms, Paladin of Endymion (ATK: 3200, LV: 9)!" From the light arose the armed form of Endymion's ultimate monster from his duel with Taiyou, taking a stand between the two dragons and being almost as tall as them.

"Five Synchro Monsters?" Alessandro asked in disbelief, thinking that such a feat would have been impossible. "Your cards… they've come to your aid…"

"It's more than that," Taiyou corrected. "This is the power of bonds!" Holding up his hand, he yelled, "Battle! Stardust Dragon, Red daemon's Dragon, Magic Tempester; attack his Skiel Guard 5!"

"Then all three attacks will be made null and void," Alessandro replied, watching as the attack came one by one. A burst of white energy, a burning fist and a scythe all shot straight at the mechanical composite; and all of these attacks simply struck the tail, fading out when they did so.

"With that effect used up, I attack Skiel Carrier 5 with Magician's Destroyer!" Shooting forwards, the other scythe-bearer swung its blade straight into the body of the machine, only for the wings to deflect the blast with an invisible field.

"The effects are used up. I attack Skiel Top 3 with Paladin of Endymion!" Raising is blade-like staff, the tallest magician shot up into the air, its blade swung back ready to strike; but before it reached its target, Alessandro pointed to his now-glowing Trap Card.

"Did you forget the effect of Fork – Divergence?" Alessandro asked. "I change the attack target to Machine Emperor Skiel Infinity (ATK: 3600, LV: 1), which means your attack will result in your own defeat!"

"I didn't forget," Taiyou responded, spinning around the last card in his hand. "Instant Magic, Shrink! I halve the original attack of Skiel Attack 5 (ATK: 800, LV: 5)! Since Fork – Divergence can only be used once per turn, your monster's Original attack is affected, and thus so is Skiel Infinity's (ATK: 2800)!"

"No!" Alessandro yelled, watching as his monster's centre was sliced in half by the attack of the large magician, creating an explosion that consumed the body instantly. All four other parts then shattered along with it, leaving Alessandro's field bare.

Taiyou: LP 100

Alessandro: LP 1200

"This duel is as good as over," Taiyou yelled as Alessandro was flung back beside Lucciano's broken form. "Without the ability to play any monsters, any Spells, and only one card to draw, you cannot save yourself with any possible move!"

"…Maybe not," Alessandro replied, picking up the female robot and slinging her over his shoulder as his eye started to glow brighter. "You can have this victory, Kenshi Taiyou; I have bigger fish to fry!" In a split second the glow of his eye became so bright that it blinded everyone in the room; and when it subsided, Alessandro and Lucciano were gone.

"Coward!" Taiyou yelled at the top of his lungs, all of the cards on his field disappearing and the field of the village changing back into the hospital room, with Sherry still in the bed.

"Let him go," Kyojo said, coming up beside his friend and taking back his card to put into his Deck. At that moment, Judai and Yusei took Crow and Yusuriha and laid them on two empty beds in the room, Crow keeping a frustrated look on his face.

"Come on Yusei," he pleaded, looking up at his friend. "I can come with you guys! I can do some good!" However, he clutched his shoulder in pain a second later, and then added, "Okay, I see your point."

Suddenly, everyone in the building could feel a slight rumbling within the structure, making them all look around. A circuit board pattern of blue plasma lined the walls of every room, as well as ceiling, floors and even the outer walls; the energy from this flowed downwards, draining into the road outside and disappearing.

"The circuit…" Yusei said under his breath. "Exactly what is it…?"

**Card of the Week – Taiyou**

**Divine Magician Master – Paladin of Endymion **

**Type:** LIGHT

**Level:** 9

**Tribes:** [Magic User/Synchro/Effect]

**Effect:** 1 Spellcaster-Type Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Spellcaster-Type Monsters

Once per turn, activate by removing 3 Spell Counters from a card(s) you control. Special Summon 1 "Endymion" Monster from your Cemetery.

**ATK/** 3200

**DEF/** 2500

*The Circuit… Review if you wish.*


	32. Secrets of Dark Glass

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 32 – ****Secrets of Dark Glass, Accel Synchro Monster**

Inside the layer of the Three Emperors, Alessandro walked into the room with the broken mess of Lucciano over his shoulder, throwing her onto his throne and turning to face Jose. "I brought you back your hunk of scrap, just as I promised you I would."

"You still did not do as you were told," Jose scorned harshly. "You were instructed to return her to us without engaging the enemy; and although I am glad more energy was collected for the Circuit, Placido and I are very displeased by your insubordination."

"Where is the rusty old piece of slag, anyway?" His question was then answered as Placido jumped down from the hole from the falling tablet, kicking Alessandro in the chest and sending him flying backwards. The man then landed on the floor as Placido took up a stance, firing his laser eye and forcing Alessandro to roll and avoid it.

"You insubordinate little piece of shit!" Placido growled at the man, acting more enraged than normal as he jumped over to Alessandro and picked him up by the collar. Though Placido was a head shorter than the man, Placido held him up with a single arm, showing the man his enraged face.

"What's the matter?" Alessandro jeered. "Jealous because my plan actually worked out, unlike everything you try?" Infuriated by this, Placido threw Alessandro backwards and sent him straight through the wall, crashing his head into a steel I-beam forming the frame of the structure.

Stepping up to the pinned man, Placido put his hand on the man's throat, applying just enough pressure to make the man cringe. "Let me explain something to you; when Jose or I give you an order, as our lowest-ranked member, you are expected to obey it to the letter."

"Let him go Placido," Jose requested, forcing the angry entity to pull Alessandro out of the wall and throw him face-down onto the floor of the room. "We're short a member as it is; we cannot afford to lose Alessandro as well."

"Arrogant human," Placido hissed judgmentally under his breath. "Until he learns to do as we tell him," he added, finally responding to Jose as he walked towards the door, "I'm restricting him to rebuilding Lucciano."

"And what do you intend to do in that time?" Jose inquired, causing Placido to stop just in front of the door and turn his head so his normal eye could see him. "You and I cannot confront the group by ourselves."

"I have no intention of doing that," Placido answered calmly, pulling a Deck out of his Pocket. "But… that Dark Glass seems to have something worth knowing. He has some sort of power, perhaps the same kind as us; and if that is the case, I want to know why he is here."

"You'd waste our time on a frivolous venture like that?" Alessandro scoffed at Placido, an angered look on his face. "What good would that do us?"

"If I'm right," Placido informed him, "then the Circuit is closer to completion; far closer than your horde of X Drones could possibly have gotten us." With that Placido turned back around and walked through the doorway, leaving Jose, Alessandro and the broken Lucciano alone in the room.

"Can one D-Wheeler truly have that kind of power?" Alessandro asked, completely stunned at such a comment by Placido. Jose gave no answer in reply; instead, he turned back to the view of what was going on, deep in thought.

Shooting in between buildings as break-neck speeds, Dark Glass simply swerved around the Riding Roids that filled the streets, their scanners missing him completely. "That Placido…" he said under his breath. "What does he think he's doing?"

"Something that should have been done Centuries ago," Placido's voice suddenly yelled down, causing Dark Glass to pull over to one side. Looking on his monitor, Placido's cloaked face came over the screen, his green gem glowing in the shadows of his hood, and a business-like look upon his face.

"What do you want from me?" Dark Glass asked, looking at the man with his cold blue eyes through his red visor. "Your efforts to drain the Signers were going well, as I had thought; so what could I possibly give you?"

"That's because your efforts to aid the Signers intrigue me," Placido answered, his voice sounding interested in the same way a scientist is interested in the result of an experiment. "That, and the fact that you can fly past my Riding Roids without them detecting you. That's no ability that any human can manage."

"So then you've figured it out," Dark Glass responded, knowing what Placido was about to imply."

"If He sent you here, then he must have doubts in what we are already doing," Placido deduced, emphasising the word 'you'. "Did you honestly think that I would not recognize you from the last time we met? I want to know why He decided to send you here, with us already in place."

"God's will has changed," Dark Glass explained calmly, getting a look of stern intrigue from Placido. "Destroying this city will not complete the goal, nor is it any longer a valid sacrifice."

"If God truly thought that, he would have told me," Placido countered. "I won't fall for such moves or tricks."

"Believe what you will, but it is the truth. I have no reason to lie about what our common master wants."

"We'll see about that." Suddenly, the screen went dead and a bolt of red lightning struck at the top of a tall building. Looking up, Dark Glass could faintly make out the form of Placido standing atop this building, a sneer on his face as he looked at Dark Glass.

"Prepare for a Duel with true stakes," the man said under his breath, the Infinity Patch over his eye lighting up red as he jumped down feet-first. As he was going down, a field of red energy that resembled binary code surrounded him and flashed through his iris that caused his robes and hood to dissolve into red energy, the particles assembling over his head to form a grey metal helmet.

"What is this?" Dark Glass asked under his breath, watching as the transformation continued. The metal pieces around his waist, which resembled a war skirt, also changed into energy and dissolved, the pieces surrounding his torso and fusing the fabric into a single red and white riding suit.

Continuing, Placido pulled out his sword and pointed it straight down, causing a red column of energy to explode downwards to the ground. Placido then fell into it and vanished, only to shoot out of it a second later on the back of a grey D-Wheel with 2 front wheels in single file, 4 rear boosters and a pair of throttles attached to the console.

When the energy field disappeared, the engine of the vehicle roared to life, shooting through the air and landing on the road about 100 metres behind Dark Glass. The vehicle then pulled to a stop beside Dark Glass and Placido smirked at the man, his eyes behind a purple visor on the grey helmet. "Say hello to Unit T-666; or, as I call it, Terrible Omen."

"You wish to Riding Duel?" Dark Glass questioned, looking and seeing that Placido's regular left sleeve had rotated around. The red dome overhung his arm laterally, raised from the white plate it was normally attached to so that it could hold a Deck. "Then very well; allow me to show you the power of Delta Eagle!"

"Excelente," Placido said, turning back to his console as Speed World 2 appeared on both Consoles and activated Duel Mode. Like a pair of rockets the 2 vehicles shot forwards as both players pulled 5 card hands and placed them into trays; then, Placido pulled ahead and snapped up his first card.

"I draw," he declared, taking his card and placing it onto the tray instantly. "I Summon Core Releaser (DEF: 1000, LV: 3)." The form of a large mechanical orb with three glowing lights of different colours on it – one yellow, one blue and one green – appeared beside Placido and turned blue save for the lights. "I also set 2 cards on my field to end my turn."

Placido: LP 4000

Dark Glass: LP 4000

"I Draw (Placido: 1 SPC/Dark Glass: 1 SPC)," Dark Glass stated, looking at his cards and grabbing one from his hand. "Since cards only exist on the opponent's side of the field, I Special Summon Tech Genus Powered Wyvern DR-05 from my hand (ATK: 2000, LV: 5)!" Placing his card onto the tray, he called up his metal-winged dragon in a flash before grabbing a card from his hand.

"Next, I reduce the Level of my Special Summoned Tech Genus Monster by 2 (LV: 3) and I Special Summon Tech Genus Blast Lizard RE-03 (ATK: 500, LV: 3)!" In a flash the form of yet another monster appeared beside his existing monster and he yelled, "Now, I tune my now Level 3 Powered Wyvern to my Level 3 Blast Lizard!" Both players then watched as the dragon rose into the air and became 3 green rings surrounding the other monster and creating a column of light.

"Synchro Creation Zone," Dark Glass started to say, the words mostly in English. "Limiter Release, Level 6. Power injection: complete. Systems check: complete. Take-off protocol: all clear! Go, Synchro Summon! Come on, Tech Genus – Sonic Dragon DRX-1000 (ATK: 2600, LV: 6)!"

Out of the Synchro Summon column of light emerged the form of his large, light blue, 4-winged dragon, complete with its mechanical components; then, he took a card from his had and placed it down. "I also Summon Tech Genus Rush Rhino BE-04 (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)!"

Placing yet another card down onto the tray, Dark Glass called forth the form of a large rhino-like humanoid in multi-coloured armour, with thick limbs and a pair of crimson horns. "Battle! I attack Core Releaser with Sonic Dragon! Mechanized Shockwave!" Folding in its wings, the dragon shot forwards and straight through the form of the machine, causing its body to dissolve and its three orbs to scatter.

"Due to the effect of Sonic Dragon," Dark Glass informed, "because I destroyed a monster by battle, it attacks once again! Attack him directly!" Spinning around in mid-air, the dragon shot back straight towards Placido; but instead of striking its target, the attack simply bounced off a field around him and continued on. "What was that?"

"I had Guard Block activated," Placido explained, reaching for his Deck and pulling a single card as the one he mentioned spun around and then disappeared. "Thus, you cannot deal enough damage to defeat me this turn." Getting a shocked look from Dark Glass, Placido looked over his shoulder and continued, a sneer on his face.

"The last time you Summoned this Sonic Dragon, it was to perform a One Turn Kill against two Public Security Officers just after the first attacks by Ghost and X. That's right; I've been watching you for some time, and so far I'm impressed."

"Then far be it from me to fall short of expectation," Dark Glass informed, regaining his composure. "When Rush Rhino attacks, it gains 400 ATK for damage calculation (ATK: 2000)! Battle! I attack you directly with Rush Rhino!" Grunting, the monster shot forward with a pair of rocket boosters and punched into Placido, causing him to receive damage but keep riding safely.

Placido: LP 2000

Dark Glass: LP 4000

"Is that the bets you can manage?" Placido taunted of Dark Glass, knowing full well that Jose and Alessandro were most likely watching. "I thought for sure a man of your calibre would be able to launch a more powerful attack than that."

"You'll see what I can do," Dark Glass shot back, grabbing 2 cards from his hand and throwing them onto the tray. "I end my turn by setting these two cards."

"In your End Phase," Placido interjected, the green orb left over from his monster floating over and changing into a glowing green card in his hand. "In the End Phase of a turn it is sent to the Cemetery, I can add one Core from my Deck to my hand." Placing his new card into his hand, Placido sneered and reached for his Deck, grabbing a new card.

"I Draw (Placido: 2 SPC/Dark Glass: 2 SPC)," he stated, placing his new draw onto the tray instantly. "I play Speed Spell – Angel Baton!" Grabbing two cards from his Deck, Placido took one of them and threw it into the Cemetery before he held up another one. "I Summon Wise Core (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!"

With the card now on the tray, the white egg-like object appeared and opened, revealing a green orb at the centre of a puzzle-like set of metal. _"That's not the card he added to his hand,"_ Dark Glass realized, noting that the aforementioned card was on the far end of his hand. _"What is he planning?"_

"Next, I send this monster to the Cemetery and Special Summon Wise Core 3 (ATK: 0, LV: 3!" Converting the whole of the machine into green energy, Placido forged a rounded cube-like white machine with red markings, whose six sides opened helically and revealed a glowing green core at its centre.

"Wise Core 3 can only be Special Summoned by sending a Wise Core I control to the Cemetery," Placido explained, holding up the card to show Dark Glass as he reached for something else. "Furthermore, I Special Summon Wise Breaker (ATK: 1600, LV: 3)!" Placido then called up the white metal warrior with electric staff that Ghost had used previously, and thus its staff started sparking.

"I activate the effect of Wise Breaker," Placido informed. "Since I Special Summoned it from having Normal Summoned Wise Core this turn, I can destroy 2 cards on the field; then, the controller of those cards draws 1 card for each destroyed card. I choose to destroy Wise Breaker and Wise Core 3!"

"What's this?" Dark Glass questioned, watching as green electricity burst off the staff and exploding; then, the core from within the machine rose up into the air while Placido drew, changing into a vortex.

"When Wise Core 3 is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the Cemetery, I destroy all monsters I control and Special Summon: Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity (ATK: 0, LV: 1), Wisel Top 3 (ATK: 800, LV: 3), Wisel Attack 3 (ATK: 1600, LV: 3), Wisel Guard 3 (DEF: 2000, LV: 3), and Wisel Carrier 3 (ATK: 1100, LV: 3)!"

Out from the light then emerged five objects one by one. First to appear, the central oblong object with an Infinity Symbol on its chest, whose metal panels behind the opened to reveal an atomic core. Second, the rat-like object appeared and folded its legs together under its body, forming a head with a neck and fusing atop the object.

Third, the bladed machine came into play and extended a section of its structure down, extending a blade and forming a three-bladed arm that attached to the left side of the machine. Next, a large round object like a snail appeared, its body folding down and gaining a six-bolted plate and creating a shielded right arm that attached as well.

Finally, the twin-booster device appeared at the bottom of the group, folding its form into a pair of long jointed legs and a lower body that fused onto the bottom of the original object. Finally, the entire object was surrounded in a green aura and red lines lit up on the black face, and the whole thing flexed to show that it worked.

"Behold; Machine Emperor Wisel 3 (ATK: 3500, LV: 1)!" Placido said confidently, spinning his D-Wheel around to face Dark Glass as he pointed at the card still on Dark Glass' field. "Next, I activate Wisel Infinity's effect, and absorb the form of your pitiful Synchro Monster!"

"Trap Card Open: Synchro Barrier!" Dark Glass yelled, his monster disappearing instantly as his card came over into play. However, two laser beams then fired from the face of the machine, cleaving the card in half and making it shatter before anything further happened. "What's this?"

"Once per turn," Placido explained, "I can negate a Magic or Trap Card used during my turn; thus, your card effect to reduce your damage to 0 is null and void. However, you did remove Wisel's effect target; sadly, this is not true of its attack target! Battle! Wisel, shred his Rush Rhino!"

Shooting forwards, the machine used its jet-like legs to get to the smaller animal while its three bladed arm came crashing down, cutting the monster in half and exploding it in Dark Glass' face. As the smoke cleared, Placido and his gigantic machine spun around, shooting ahead of Dark Glass a bit.

Placido: LP 2000

Dark Glass: LP 2100

"Only 100 Life Points difference," Placido observed, sneering. "However, your move means you have no cards that can stand up to Wisel."

"I'll always find a way," Dark Glass countered, a card shooting from his Deck as he placed it into his hand. "When a Tech Genus Monster is destroyed, its owner can add a monster of the same name to their hand from their Deck."

"Do all the adding you want; in the end, as long as you use Synchro Monsters against Wisel, your moves are fruitless. I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Draw (Placido: 3 SPC/Dark Glass: 3 SPC)! I activate my Trap Card: Dying Altogether! Both players have 3 cards in hand, so they both discard their hands, draw 5 cards, and take 300 damage." Watching passively, Placido threw out his cards as Dark Glass did the same; then, they both pulled 5 new cards while their Life Points fell.

Placido: LP 1700

Dark Glass: LP 1800

"Since monsters only exist on your side of the field," Dark Glass explained, holding up a card from his hand, "I can Special Summon Tech Genus Striker WA-01 (ATK: 800, LV: 2)!" Dark Glass then took his card and slid it onto the tray, calling up a blue-armoured warrior with a double helix of armour and a black suit underneath.

"At this moment, I activate the effect of a monster in my Cemetery." After he said this, three cards – his previous Synchro Monster, his previous Tuner and another card – shot out from the Cemetery as he added, "When a Tech Genus Tuner exists on my field, I can exclude 2 Tech Genus Monsters from my Cemetery and Special Summon Tech Genus Tank Turtle AQ-03 from my Cemetery (ATK: 0, LV: 3)!"

After the first two cards disappeared into green binary energy, he placed the third card onto the tray and called up a tortoise-like animal with a green metal shell, guns on its back and treads in place of legs; and then he added, "I tune my Level 2 Striker to my Level 3 Tank Turtle!"

Jumping up into the air, the warrior became two green rings that surrounded the other monster. As a result, it became a yellow outline of itself with 3 white orbs inside; then, the light collected into a column and burst through. "Synchro Zone Control! Limit Release, Level 5! Boost Level 120%! Recovery Network: All Clear! Synchro Summon! Come on, Tech Genus Power Gladiator WAX-1000 (ATK: 2300, LV: 5)!"

Out from the light then shot the axe-wielding, green-armoured warrior with long black hair and darker skin, swinging around its blade in a battle-ready position while Dark Glass put down a card. "I Summon Tech Genus Portal Dragon DR-01 (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" Right beside the existing monster then appeared a long metal serpent with wings, which folded itself into a loop and created a blue vortex.

"Once per turn, Portal Dragon cal Special Summon one level 4 or lower Tech Genus Monster from the own hand! Come on, Tech Genus Warp Phoenix WB-04 (ATK: 1700, LV: 4)!" From the blue energy then emerged the burning red bird with metal parts; then, the dragon became a single green ring, and flew over to it.

"Limit Release, Level 5. Booster Launch: OK. In Creation: OK. Ground Support: All Clear!" As Dark Glass spoke, the green rings surrounded the burning monster, causing it to change into a set of 4 white orbs and then more light. "Go, Synchro Summon! Come on, Tech Genus Wonder Magician SCX-1000 (ATK: 1900, LV: 5)!"

From the light then appeared the form of the red-clothed female magician with a long grey X on her back, a green long across her face, and long pink hair down to her feet. "Due to the effect of Warp Phoenix, I draw one card!" With the new card in his hand, Dark Glass pointed at Placido and went, "Battle! I attack Wisel Top 3 with Power Gladiator! Mechanized Slash!"

Jumping forwards, the larger monster swung its blade in an attempt to strike the creature's head; however, its right arm got in the way and caused it to bounce off. "Sorry," Placido explained, "but any attack can be redirected to Wisel Guard 3; and once per turn, it cannot be destroyed in battle."

"But even so," Dark Glass replied, "Power Gladiator's effect inflicts Penetration Damage!" Growling, Placido saw a red aura surround himself as his Life Points fell slightly; however, he felt no pain, and simply sneered after it finished. Then, he pointed to one of the cards on his tray, causing it to flip over.

"Trap Card Open!" Placido declared, showing off his card. "Circuit Gravity! During either player's turn, all monsters that can attack must attack a Machine-Type Monster their opponent controls. Thus, your Magician is forced to attack Wisel Guard 3!" Watching in shock, Dark Glass watched his magician form an orb of energy and shoot it at the upwards arm; this blast simply shot back and struck Dark Glass, causing him to swerve and take his damage.

Placido: LP 1400

Dark Glass: LP 1700

"I set 2 cards and end my turn!" Dark Glass declared, looking at Placido as he reached for a card on his own Deck and grabbed it, pulling it up instantly.

"Draw (Placido: 4 SPC/Dark Glass: 4 SPC)!" he added, looking at his monitor and thinking critically. _"If I target either of his Synchro Monsters, he'll Accel Synchro Summon his Blade Gunner; but, doing so means he still cannot defeat my Machine Emperor. I'll force his hand."_

"I activate the Speed Spell – Summon Close!" Placido declared, placing his card onto the tray. "When my Speed Counters are at 4 or more, I prevent opposing Special Summons this turn! Sorry, but your Accel Synchro is sealed!"

"Counter Trap!" Dark Glass declared, showing off one of his cards. "Genus Buster! When I control 2 or more types of monsters, I can negate a Magic or Trap Card and destroy it!" A double helix of energy thus appeared around the card, causing it to shatter instantly.

"Then I activate Wisel's monster effect," Placido explained, causing the Infinity Symbol on his monster to glow green. "Once per turn, I absorb one Synchro Monster my opponent controls. Therefore, Power Gladiator will become a power boost for a true monster from God!"

From the green symbol then shot a series of tentacles of energy, wrapping around the limbs, torso and neck of the green-armoured monster. However, when he did so, Dark Glass simply pushed down on his accelerator, causing his two monsters to dash far forward of Placido straight through the tentacles.

A few seconds later, Dark Glass and his two monsters disappeared into blue energy, leaving only Placido jetting along the highway. _"It's come forth,"_ he realized, sneering beneath his helmet. _"Show me the Accel Synchro. Show me the alternate possibility that you showed Fudo Yusei."_

A second later, his wishes were answered when a burst of light produced Dark Glass again, this time with his tall, green, mechanical monster, glowing blade attached to gun and all. "Tech Genus Blade Gunner MAXX-10000, come forth (ATK: 3300, LV: 10)!" he yelled, holding up the card before tossing it onto the tray with vigour.

Outside of the hospital, Yusei and the rest of the crew had taken to their D-Wheels; including Yusuriha and Crow, who were now in good enough shape to ride, and Taiyou, who was on the back of Kyojo's ride. The only one left behind was Hell Kaiser, who had chosen to secure the hospital and recover everyone he could, to get them to a safer place.

Looking around, the others saw that all the Riding Roids had strangely moved away from the hospital, to the lower levels of the highway. This was certainly surprising to everyone; with how badly the Riding Roids had been swarming everything in sight, they had expected them to be present. Instead, they were nowhere to be seen.

A few seconds later, Judai realized why with a resounding gasp. "It's the testing day for the WRGP," he realized, getting the attention of everyone and creating grave looks. "All the people who entered are taking this chance to test out the tracks."

"The Ghosts are locked onto their location," Yusei affirmed, seeing the red dots representing them on the layers below. Then, in the far corner of his screen, he saw two unregistered signatures; one of which he recognized, the other he had inkling as to its identity.

"That's Dark Glass' energy signature, isn't it?" Crow asked, Yusei's reply coming from a very brief nod. Pressing their accelerators, the entire group started shooting in the direction of the signatures; and after a few minutes, when they were even close, the face of Placido in his helmet came over Yusei's monitor.

"How fitting, Fudo Yusei," he said, the sneer on his face. "The man who showed you the alternate possibility… you get the honour of seeing how worthless that possibility truly is!" Looking down, Yusei and the group could see the Machine Emperor Wisel in its evolved form, as well as the Accel Synchro Monster Dark Glass used; and so they jumped their vehicles to that level, just behind the duel.

"He managed to evolve Wisel to its third form without Wise Wave," Yusuriha said under her breath, knowing first-hand how much advantage the second form of Wisel gave Placido. "This might be Dark Glass' final performance."

"It's still my turn," Placido reminded Dark Glass, pointing at his monster. "I attack Blade Gunner with Wisel!" Again the machine monster spun around, pointing its bladed arm at the smaller creature and swinging it downwards; however, Dark Glass flipped over yet another card, one which actually surprised Placido.

"Counter Trap: Attack Nullification! I negate the attack and end the Battle Phase!" A vortex then appeared in front of the monster and took the brunt of the vortex, sending the larger machine flying back into place. "I know how to dodge Wisel Top 3 now; Counter Traps cannot be negated by monster effects."

"That maybe true," Placido agreed, "but ultimately it's not enough. I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Draw (Placido: 5 SPC/Dark Glass: 5 SPC)!" Dark Glass suddenly issued, looking at his card for all of a second before flipping over his last set card. "I activate Strike Slash! For this turn, Blade Gunner gains 700 ATK (ATK: 4000) and inflicts Penetration Damage! Go, attack Wisel Guard 3!"

"Trap Card Open: Wise Charge!" Placido revealed, surprising everyone as his card appeared. "Since I control 5 Wisel Monsters, I recover 5000 Life Points before your damage unsuccessfully topples my monster!" With one felled swoop the smaller machine fired its gun straight at the shield arm; and though Placido sparked, it had no effect at all.

Placido: LP 4400

Dark Glass: LP 1700

"He's got more than his starting Life Points!" Judai realized, his face twisting into a growl. "There's almost no way to stop him now!"

"I set two cards and end my turn," the man finally declared, a helpless tone to his voice.

"This duel has been fun," Placido stated reaching for his Deck, "but I think it's about time to end this. I Draw (Placido: 6 SPC/Dark Glass: 6 SPC)!" Looking at his card, he pointed at one of his set cards and declared, "I activate Trap Stun!"

Watching in horror, Dark Glass saw all of his set cards simply become frozen, unable to move, as Placido spun his hand around. "By removing 4 Speed Counters from my Speed World 2 (Placido: 2 SPC/Dark Glass: 6 SPC), I inflict 800 damage for each Speed Spell in my hand! And I have 3!"

"That means…" Yusei stuttered, seeing Speed Spell – Over Boost, Speed Spell – The End of Storm and Speed Spell – Angel Baton in Placido's hand. A second later, a burst of energy from Placido's D-Wheel struck into Dark Glass' ride, creating an explosion that sent him flying up into the air.

"Be gone, the thorn in my side," Placido issued, his Machine Emperor swinging its blade arm straight at the flying D-Wheel and cleaving it in half. The machine itself then exploded, leaving Dark Glass falling straight towards the ocean below.

"Yusei!" the man yelled, taking a card form his pocket and throwing it to Yusei. "Take this!" A second later, the card landed in Yusei's grip and Dark Glass simply fell into the ocean; and then Placido braked and swerved, his D-Wheel perpendicular to the crowd and they were forced to stop.

"What the fuck was that for?" Crow yelled to the man as his visor retracted, revealing his red eye and Infinity patch. "There was no need to fucking kill they guy!"

"If you knew what I knew, you'd doubt that would truly kill him," Placido responded calmly, looking at the man with a dark glare that gave Crow chills. "That's the problem with humans like you: you're unable to understand our ways. Even Alessandro is ignorant to the great truth."

"Great truth?" Jack questioned, getting off his D-Wheel and running up to Placido. "What the hell are you talking about?" With that he simply grabbed Placido by the chest and picked him up with both hands, bringing Placido's face up his own and yelling, "You'd better start talking straight you fucking mechanical piece of shit!"

Instead of responding, Placido simply discharged a bolt of electricity from his Infinity plate, exploding it and shocking Jack badly enough to drop Placido and fall on his knees. Getting up on the seat of the bike, Placido's body became surrounded in the red binary again and returned to his cloaked form, his mechanical eye giving everyone a dark glare.

"Humans like you are precisely the problem with my mission," Placido explained to them, drawing his sword and pointing it at them. "Though you all stand up for what you feel is right, you are biased for your own species. You cannot see the evil ones for who they are, and you unknowingly protect them."

"We are well aware that there are humans who are greedy and selfish," Yusei said, placing the card he had been handed in his Deck box and standing up. "But we know that humans as a whole are good, and the majority do not need to suffer for the misdeeds of a few."

"Such an idealistic point of view," Placido responded, closing his normal eye for a second before looking back at Yusei. "Ponce de Leon used to think the same way you did, back hundreds of years ago. That's how everyone thought; I was the only one to see the harsh truth. Innocent ones to deserve to exist; but that does not mean that the sinners get a free pass.

"It's not just the likes of you. The world over, human society is plagued by the Criminal Justice systems, and other failed institutions like that; they allow the guilty to simply do as they wish, while the true victims are treated as garbage by the very system which protects them."

"You're doing all this for a simple political rant?" Kiryu questioned, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a throwing knife. Before anybody could tell, he threw the knife straight at Placido; who, surprisingly, grabbed the knife with his free hand and tossed it aside. Then, pointing his blade at Kiryu, he fired a bolt of red energy that sent him flying off his D-Wheel, straight into one of the barriers.

"Stop this right now!" Yusei instructed both Placido and his own crew. "At this rate, we're simply going to do ourselves irreparable harm. Now is not the time to fight; we owe it to ourselves and this man to listen to what he has to say."

"You always were the voice of reason, Yusei," Placido said in amusement, looking at the man with a dark smile. "Even as a Dark Signer, you sought out Judai because he was the one who could save you. I knew you were the proper choice to appeal to; as well as you, Yuki Judai."

Pointing to Judai, Placido gave him the non-verbal cue to stand up; and he did so, taking off his helmet and getting off his D-Wheel. Stepping over to where Yusei was, Judai gave Placido a dark glare, to the extent where his own brown eyes changed into the golden eyes of the Supreme King; upon seeing these, Placido growled and turned to him.

"What hypocrisy," Placido declared judgmentally. "You call yourself an entity of justice. Was it just to sacrifice thousands of lives? Or to mercilessly discard your friends after torturing them? Or give shelter to a destructive psychopath? What does this mean of you? Do you truly serve justice; or are you in denial?"

"I regret the mistakes I have made to get to where I am now," Judai admitted in his stern tone. "For many of them, I can never be forgiven; but I have never let those things become my destiny. I have served justice ever since my trial by hellfire; and I will continue to do so until I face judgment for my misdeeds there."

"Just as I thought," Placido responded, looking at Judai solemnly. "You are a true Supreme King. Yusei may lead; but you are his true second, and the most powerful member of the group. You and Yubel. For that reason you, as well as Yusei, deserve to know the truth."

"Then tell us of this truth," Yusei requested, clenching his fist and speaking in an exasperated tone. "What do we need to know? If there is a greater truth that we need to know, why not simply reveal it to us now?"

"Now is not the time for this meeting," Placido responded. "But you will learn in due time; Meet me at the Old Momentum at midnight tonight; and there, you will learn the truth within truths." With this said, Placido and his D-Wheel burst into red energy and disappeared, leaving the group standing alone in the middle of the lane.

"It looks like we don't have much choice," Judai realized, turning to Yusei as they both put their helmets back on and extended their visors. "We will meet him at midnight tonight; until then, we have people to save."

"Right," Yusei responded, both of them running to their D-Wheels and jumping on. "Those people testing for the WRGP need our help; and maybe there, we can learn the truth of the card I was given."

"An Accel Synchro Monster?" Jack questioned as both him and Kiryu limped back to their own D-Wheels and got back on. Yusei's response was to simply give a nod; and after he did both men put their helmets on and the lot of them sped off, shooting back towards the lower levels where chaos was unfolding.

Stepping back into the Infinity control room, Placido looked upon Jose and Alessandro as the latter hovered over Lucciano's body, working on it; and as the former looked over him, only looking away long enough to give a quick applause to Placido.

"That was an excellent performance," Jose commended him. "The duel between you and Dark Glass has increased the energy within the Circuit considerably; in fact, we are nearing 85% complete."

"But more importantly," Placido pointed out, "we now have the Signers and the Darkness of Justice where we want them. As you wished, their power will be used to complete the circuit."

"Then you intend to duel them?" Alessandro inquired, inserting a new length of wire under the outer skin while Placido looked upon him intently. "Then you do realize that your own life is on the line in such a battle. It is the power of bonds that allows them to win, after all; there's a high chance you will lose."

"I am both well aware and well prepared to embrace the consequences. Even if I should die in that battle, the energy released from such a struggle would see the Circuit completed entirely. Our goal would be completed, even in my absence. Does that make sense to you, mortal? That's called selflessness and devotion to a goal; in other words, loyalty."

"I understand what loyalty is," Alessandro replied, growing more frustrated and standing up to face him. "How long do you intend to keep rubbing my face in my mistakes?"

"Not for much longer," Placido reassured, his voice growing calmer and Alessandro's expression doing the same. "Your work rebuilding Lucciano almost redeems you in my eyes; but I have one last assignment for you after that that will truly put you back in my good vision."

Reaching under the fold of his robe, Placido pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to Alessandro. When the man took a look at this document, he looked back up at Placido and asked, "What is this about?"

"Call it a backup strategy," Placido answered. "In the event that my plan fails, and the Circuit is not completed by this battle, the WRGP becomes our last chance at doing so. For that to work, all of us are needed for this plan."

"Then you want me to…?" When Placido gave a reassuring look and nodded, Alessandro gave a confident sneer and turned to Jose, who simply nodded. "Is Lucciano aware of this plan?"

"She will be once she is rebuilt," Jose explained. "This plan arose after her destruction, when Placido and I realized that fighting the Singers one by one would not work to our advantage. With the style of duels in the WRGP, we can get all the energy we need in a single match."

"Now that sounds like my kind of plan."

"But before we can get to that, I still have one last thing to do," Placido informed, pulling out his sword and slashing it through the air. Instantly a white slash appeared through the air that he stepped into, the air closing behind him and leaving no trace that he had ever been there.

Inside the darkness of the Old Momentum, Paradox stood at the control panel, using it to brace himself while he looked at the data. When he heard the sound of electrical crackling, he turned to see Placido step out, his regular and mechanical eyes both glowing in the blackness just like Paradox's mask.

"Your little plan with the X Units and Riding Roids completely got in my way," Paradox issued sharply, turning and looking at Placido with an angrily look on his face under his mask. In response, Placido simply pulled down his hood to reveal his face and hair, and then he responded.

"My apologies for that incident," he reassured, looking to the man as he too took off his mask to reveal his glowing yellow eyes. "My apprentice Alessandro got a tad overzealous and unleashed all those units. As for the Diablo, that's affecting everyone. But, as you may have guessed, I'm not here to argue semantics."

"Then what are you here to do?" the yellow-eyed duellist inquired sceptically, raising his long red eyebrow.

"At midnight tonight, Judai and Yusei will be here; and when they arrive, a Riding Duel will commence that will give us both all the power we desire. If you want this to succeed, however, you must ensure that the duel goes uninterrupted."

"That sounds fair enough to me," Paradox agreed, his expression returning to a calm, collected one. "But how do I know I can trust you?"

"Because I'm going out of my way to trust you," Placido reminded him. "Unless I thought this was important, I wouldn't bother; it should say something that I did."

"Very well; I'll ensure that the duel goes uninterrupted," Paradox agreed, before an alarm went off on his panel. Looking at the device, he recognized the intruder alarm and pulled up a visual, showing that one of Placido's Diablo-intercepted practice duels had made its way to Satellite.

"My apologies for this as well," Placido stated, looking up to the platform above. "I had thought that the exits from Neo Domino had been adequately sealed; evidently something has rendered that moot."

"This isn't a real issue," Paradox informed him, putting his mask back on and stepping over to his parked D-Wheel. "This will only take a few seconds to deal with." With that Paradox started up the vehicle and started lapping it around the room until it reached a point where it burst into blue light, disappearing and leaving Placido alone in the room.

"_Excellent," _Placido thought of this situation, stepping over to the panel and pulling his hood back up._ "I knew that he would be so easily distracted by this move."_ Pressing a few buttons on the display, he saw the energy levels for the Old Momentum to be at a whopping 90%, something Placido was very interested in.

"_Your little plan is near completion then, is it? Let's see how this influences things."_ Sneering, Placido stared down upon the control panel, his Infinity symbol glowing red as he did so. Red electricity then emanated from his mechanical eye and struck the panel, decalibrating the device until it read only 75%. _"That should definitively trifle with his little experiment."_

With that, Placido simply turned and sneered, stepping to the edge of the room before he faded out like a ghost. Before he completely faded out, however, he saw the energy along the walls, its glow brightening and fading in a heartbeat pattern; and he thus sneered, knowing that his plan was soon to reach fruition.

**Card of the Week – Placido**

**Wise Core 3**

**Type:** DARK

**Level:** 3

**Family(s):** [Machine/Effect]

**Effect:** This card cannot be Normal Summoned or set. This card can be Special Summoned from the hand by releasing 1 "Wise Core" on your side of the field. When this card is destroyed by a card effect, activate by destroying all monsters on your side of the field. Special Summon 1 each of "Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity", "Wisel Top 3", "Wisel Attack 3", "Wisel Guard 3" and "Wisel Carrier 3" from your hand, Deck to Cemetery.

**ATK/** 0

**DEF/** 0

*We're nearing the final laps. Review if you wish.*


	33. Shine Saviour Star Dragon!

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 33 – ****Shine, Saviour Star Dragon! Yusei vs. Diablo**

Dark skies above Neo Domino City, a sign of encroaching storms, had their shadows mirrored along the roads in the form of hordes of Riding Roids, hundreds or even thousands of them, riding and creating destruction in their path. The poor souls who were caught in their path, training for the WRGP, were left with no choice but to accept the Battle Royal Duels; and as they did, the sheer number of enemies led to their defeats one by one.

One particular Team, labelled Team Hellfire, had been training along the café district of the city when they had been ambushed by the mobs of Ghosts; now, their meagre Life Points were the only thing leaving them above spinning out and possibly dying, as civilians already had.

"This is bad," their lead member said to himself, observing his own lack of a hand while the Ghost Army closed in. His own two team-mates had already been sent careening into the sides of buildings, leaving him at the lone mercy of about 10 Riding Roids. "What am I to do in this situation? There's no escaping this many D-Wheelers."

"This is complete bullshit!" the voice of Crow suddenly issued, getting the attention of both the Team Hellfire member and the Ghosts. Without any sort of warning, Crow and Judai jumped their D-Wheels from one of the lower roads onto the main drag the current duel was on; Judai's field already included his Flame Wingman (ATK: 2100, LV: 6); and while Crow had no monsters, his 3 set cards were help enough.

"Such cowards, these Riding Roids," Judai observed flippantly. "Attacking in swarms like this against single D-Wheelers." Turning back to face one of the Robots with his Golden Supreme King eyes, he issued, "If you want a fight, then we're more than happy to give you one!"

"Then we shall oblige your arrogance, Yuki Judai," one of the robots said, drawing for its turn and placing the card down instantly. "I Summon Ally of Justice D.D. Checker (ATK: 1700, LV: 4)." A blue vortex was conjured by the playing of a card, which spawned a large bee-like robotic insect, buzzing loudly.

"I also play the Speed Spell, Speed Energy! Since I have 12 Speed Counters, my D.D. Checker gains 2400 points (ATK: 4100)! Battle! Attack and destroy Flame Wingman!" Buzzing its wings, the monster then rammed into the body of Judai's one-winged warrior; but the attack bounced off, and while Judai showed an expression of pain he did not seem shaken.

"Too bad, but I have Hero Shield (LP: 2000)," he explained, revealing a Trap Card already on his field. "Since Flame Wingman was about to be destroyed in battle, this card protected it; and since I took 2000 damage, I draw 2 cards!" Reaching for his Deck, Judai added the cards to his hand instantly; then, he sneered to Crow, telling him that everything was set.

"Due to the effect of my D.D. Checker," Ghost explained, "You cannot Special Summon LIGHT Monsters. Your ace monster, Neos, is Light-Attribute, as is the evolution of Flame Wingman known as Shining Flare Wingman. Until this card is destroyed, you cannot summon your best monsters."

"That's hardly a threat," Judai responded as the robot placed 3 cards face-down, "seeing as your monster loses its bonus in the End Phase, leaving Crow the opportunity to slice and dice your Life Points!"

"You bet!" Crow issued, reaching for his Deck and snapping up his card quickly. "It's my turn (7 SPC), and I Summon Black-Feathered Wyvern (ATK: 1700, LV: 3)!" A similar blue vortex to the previous one was then created, spawning a tall, thin black dragon with feathered wings, no arms and a beaked face.

"Since I summoned this monster, I can Special Summon 1 Black Feather monster from my Graveyard! Come on back, Black Feather – Foehn of the Iron Chain (DEF: 800, LV: 2)!" Spawning to Crow's side, there appeared a brown-feathered monster in an outfit much like a traditional ninja, which folded its wings over its chest.

"And to top it off, I Special Summon Black Feather – Blast of the Black Lance from my hand (ATK: 1700, LV: 4)!" The third monster then appeared as a blue, red and yellow-feathered humanoid bird holding a black drill-shaped spear, looking very threatening. "Now, I tune my Black-Feathered Wyvern to my Black Feathers!"

Screeching loudly, Crow's monster closed its wings and converted into 3 green orbs. The two bird-like monsters then dove up into the rings, changing into a total of 6 orbs that turned into a vertical column of light. "Synchro Summon! Soar Onwards, Blackfeather Dragon (ATK: 3200, LV: 9)!"

Diving out from the light with a loud roar, Crow's massive and gigantic Signer Dragon took up wings, creating a veil of feathers flying in the wind as it did so. "I'm not done; I activate my Trap Card, Black Back! With this card, I Special Summon 1 Black Feather from my Cemetery. Return, Shura of the Azure Flame (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)!"

Collecting together, several of the black feathers joined into the tall, lanky blue birdman Crow called on; and after that, another card appeared on his field. "I activate my Trap card, Delta Crow – Anti Reverse, and I call upon the power of by Black Feather to destroy all set Magic and Trap Cards on the opposing field!"

All the remaining feathers that were cycling around then shot at the set cards all of the Ghosts possessed, 20 in all, and caused every last one of them to explode. "I attack D.D. Checker with Shura!" Jumping towards the insect-like monster, Crow's bird-like entity cleaved the insect in half with its talons, making it explode.

"Due to this monster's effect, I Special Summon Gale of the Hurricane from my Deck (ATK: 1300, LV: 3)!" A flashy of wind then kicked up into the shape of a tornado, revealing from its form the blue bird-like creature that Crow was known to use. "Direct attack!" Before the Riding Roid has any chance to attack, the bird then swooped in and belivered a massive swat with its wings, making the D-Wheeler actually swerve a little.

"I'm not done! Direct Attack by Blackfeather Dragon! Nova Stream!" Roaring intensely, the dragon reared back and delivered a burst of white, crimson and black energy straight into the Riding Roid's vehicle; on impact, because its Life Points hit 0, it simply exploded into a fireball and spun backwards through the ranks.

"Trap Card Open: Emergency Tuning!" Crow then added, revealing one of his main pieces of his strategy. "I tune my Level 3 Gale to my Level 4 Shura in the Battle Phase!" Both bird-like creatures then ascended into the air, where the smaller bird changed into a set of 3 green rings. The larger one then flew into these, changing into 4 white orbs, then one, and then a horizontal pillar of light.

"Synchro Summon, Black Feather Armoured Wing (ATK: 2500, LV: 7)!" From the beam of light then dove the black-armoured monster with the red gem face and yellow taloned hands, one of which was held in a fist. "Direct attack!" Without hesitation, this monster shot into the chassic of another Riding Roid, taking a massive chunk from its Life Points.

"I'll just set this one card," Crow finally added, turning to Judai. "Think you can deliver as well, man?"

"No sweat," Judai reaffirmed, reaching from his Deck and drawing while yelling, "It's my turn (8 SPC)!" Without hesitation, he took the card he had drawn and decreed, "I activate the Speed Spell Angel Baton, and I discard for its effect Necro Darkman!" Picking up the two cards for the card's effect, Judai then took one he had drawn earlier and threw it away, opting for his next move.

"I use Speed World 2's effect; I give up 4 Speed Counters (4 SPC) and hit your for 800 damage for every Speed Spell in my hand! That number is 3!" Holding up 2 Magic Cards from his hand, Judai's D-Wheel sent out a signal that shocked the control panel of the weakened Riding Roid; this caused it to explode like the last one, leaving only 8 in the group.

"Speed Spell – Over Speed!" he then added, showing off his card. "Since I have 3 Speed Counters, I pay them all (0 SPC) and pull a Level 3 or lower monster and a Magic or Trap Card from the Cemetery to my hand. I choose Neospacia Magician and Speed Spell – Over Boost!" Instantly his Speed Counters reverted to 0 and his two cards slid from his Cemetery, which he put into his hand instantly.

"During the next 3 Standby Phases, I will not accumulate Speed Counters; but, I can still do so by effects, like the Speed Spell – Over Boost I brought back! I increase the number of Speed Counters I have by 4 (4 SPC), which gives me just enough for Speed Spell – Speed Fusion!"

"Awesome combo, Judai!" Crow cheered, watching as Judai took a card from his hand and held it up; one he had just acquired.

"For the Fusion Summon of a monster that lists Elemental Hero Neos as a Material, I can use Neospacia Magician by treating its name as E-HERO Neos! Therefore, I fuse it with Flame Wingman!" The form of Judai's white warrior then appeared by the side of his other monster; the two then swirled together, creating the form of Judai's partly red-armoured warrior with double blade and blue shield.

"Rise up, Neos Knight (ATK: 2500, LV: 7). Next, its effect will activate, and it gains half of Flame Wingman's power (ATK: 3550). But the fun doesn't end there; since Necro Darkman is in my Cemetery, I Summon a monster without releasing! Come, Edgeman (ATK: 2600, LV: 7)!" Judai then placed his card onto the tray with a swishing motion just before his golden bladed warrior appeared, swinging its arms for a fight.

"Since Neos Knight can attack twice in one Battle Phase, I have it attack directly against 2 Riding Roids! Neos Force Blade!" Judai's bladed warrior then shot straight back between two Riding Roids, twirling its blade in its hands before swinging it down between them. The result was that both vehicles took severe damage, losing most of their life in one shot.

"I'm not done," Judai added. "Edgeman, direct attack!" The golden warrior then wasted no time in jumping back while its partner went black to place; and as the blade on the forearm of this monster sliced through a weakened Roid, it simply exploded like the others and went flying.

"That's my Battle Phase, but I still have a Main Phase 2," Judai reminded, holding up a card from his hand. "I still have Speed Spell – The End of Storm in my hand; so I remove all 4 Speed Counters (0 SPC) and hit you for 800 damage!" In an instant the other weakened Riding Roid simply exploded, requiring the other units to swerve around it to get closer to Judai.

"I set one card. In my End Phase, my Speed Counters become 1; but since I lost all of them prior, that's a benefit rather than a hindrance."

"_These two are amazing," _the Team Hellfire member realized, looking back at them both._ "They're playing perfectly and as a team; and in just two turns, they've taken down 4 Riding Roids. I hope they're in the WRGP; that would be a fun game indeed."_

"_Neos Knight is a LIGHT Monster," _Judai realized, recalling all-too-well the anti-Light Attribute effects of the Allies of Justice._ "But, my set card Paradox Fusion should stop it cold; I can negate a Magic, Trap or Special Summon by excluding a Fusion Monster for 2 turns. Not only will I negate their effect, I'll seal the A.O.J. monsters' effects." _

Meanwhile, on another section of the road, another Team participating in the WRGP found themselves likewise caught up in the siege of the Diablo; in this case though, Jack, Kiryu and Yusuriha had come to their aid, and were mid-battle with a set of Riding Roids.

"It's my turn (6 SPC)," Kiryu then declared, taking up a card from his Deck and putting a single card in his hand. "I activate the Speed Spell – Power Baton; and by sending Infernity Destroyer from my Deck to my Cemetery, I add its power to my One-Hundred Eye Dragon (ATK: 5300, LV: 8)."

Taking a card from his Deck and throwing it away, Kiryu watched as his multi-eyed dragon gained a burning red aura and snarled; next, he turned to his dark grey dragon with multiple limbs and ragged wings and issued, "Next I activate the effect of Infernity Death Dragon. I destroy Ally of Justice Decisive Arms (ATK: 3300, LV: 10) and inflict damage equal to half of its ATK!"

Letting out a demonic growl, Kiryu's monster blasted a fireball straight into a moon-shaped black and gold machine with 2 laser cannon arms and a targeting face, causing it to explode and damage its user. "Next, I exclude Infernity Beast from my Cemetery, and have One-Hundred Eye Dragon gain its effect! Battle!"

Opening every single one of its multiple eyes, the beast turned its attention to an uninjured Riding Roid with absolutely no monsters and blasted purple beams from its eyes. When these made contact, the Riding Roid exploded and the burning wreck spun out, crashing into the barriers while the group went on.

"Get him Jack!" Kiryu instructed as his turn concluded, his two dragons roaring at Jack's existing red and grey dragon.

"As you wish," Jack responded, pulling his card. "It's my turn (7 SPC), and I sacrifice Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8) to Summon Strong Wind Dragon (ATK: 2400, LV: 6)!" The monster on Jack's field then became a rainbow neon orb that spawned a tall, anthropomorphic dragon with long wings, a muscular frame and a horse-like head.

"Now this monster gains half the power of my Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3900). But there's more; I activate Call of the Living Dead, and Special Summon Red Daemon's Dragon from my Cemetery (ATK: 3000)." Revealing a set card on his field, Jack returned his gigantic dragon to the field, and then both turned to existing Riding Roids.

"Red Daemon's, battle! Absolute Power Force!" Growling, the dragon then thrust its burning fist into the body of the weakened Riding Roid, making it go flying as it exploded into scrap.

"I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Then I think I'll get in on this," Yusuriha quickly replied. "I draw (8 SPC), and I summon Bogart Knight (ATK: 1900, LV: 4)!" Joining Yusuriha's existing red-armoured warrior (ATK: 2400, LV: 6) and female samurai (ATK: 2300, LV: 6) appeared a tall, thin brown knight in blue armour, a red cape and holding a large electrical sword.

"Since I Summoned this monster, I Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower X-Sabre from my hand. Come on, XX-Sabre Galsem (ATK: 1400, LV: 4)!" Out of the blue vortex created then emerged her armoured gazelle-like monster holding two serrated swords, which took up an aggressive stance.

"Next, I activate the effect of Faultroll, and Special Summon X-Sabre Airbellum from my Cemetery (ATK: 1600, LV: 3)!" Finally, the remaining monsters were joined by the lion-headed warrior, which swiped its claws as the sword-wielder took up an aggressive stance.

"Due to its own effect, Galsem gains 200 ATK for each of my X-Sabres (ATK: 2400)! Go, Faultroll, Airbellum, attack!" Without wasting time, the red-armoured and lion-headed warriors dove into a Riding Roid, making it explode while more simply drove up into line.

"Bogart Knight, Galsem, direct attack!" Seconds later the two smaller creatures from moments earlier shot forwards, their swords completely shredding the second Riding Roid in an instant, leaving yet another smouldering wreck.

"I direct attack with XX-Sabre Hyunlei! Go!" Without wasting time, the female samurai dove head-long into battle, her sword slashing through the chassis of an oncoming Riding Roid; and then, before it could return, the lion-headed beast again dove forward.

"Trap Card, Emergency Tuning! During my Battle Phase, I tune my Level 3 Airbellum to my Level 6 Hyunlei!" With a mighty swipe of its paw the lion-man created three green rings before disappearing; the female samurai then jumped up into these and became six white orbs, then a horizontal column of light.

"Synchro Summon: XX-Sabre Gatmuz (ATK: 3100, LV: 9)!" Bursting forth from the light, the massive silver-armoured warrior brought its sword down upon the Riding Roid, cutting it in half length-wise and causing two Riding Roids to be struck by the wreckage.

By himself, Yusei had been doing just fine against the Riding Roids when it was only 2 or 3 at a time; but by now there were a total of 20 Roids on his tail, and so he was finding himself in a situation where running became prudent.

Riding his D-Wheel at maximum speed, he managed to get far ahead of the majority of the Riding Robots; but much to his surprise and chagrin, that a single Riding Roid was now on his tail, and this one had a very familiar feel to it. "Fudo Yusei, prepare for a duel of true terror," it then said, watching as Yusei's D-Wheel was forcibly converted to duel mode again.

"It knows my name and addressed me by it," he realized, looking back at this Riding Roids to discover it had a very unique look about it. Its eyes were not glowing like the others were; instead, they were clearly visible. In addition, its voice sounded less artificial than the others; and with that, Yusei realized what was going on.

"You're one of Alessandro's X-Units, aren't you?" Yusei asked as his Deck produced a five-card hand and sleeved it.

"That's very good, Yusei," it responded, its own Deck doing the same thing. "Now, allow me to show you a proper duel."

Yusei: LP 4000

X Roid: LP 4000

"It's my turn," Yusei declared, reaching for his Deck and grabbing a 6th card to as to get this duel over with. "I Summon Tricler (DEF: 300, LV: 3)!" In an instant Yusei was joined by a 3-wheeled blue robot, one with large tires and thicker arms that were crossed. "I set 1 card and end my turn."

"Then I draw (Yusei: 1 SPC/X Roid: 1 SPC)," the X-infected Riding Roid declared, taking its card and playing it instantly. "I Summon Ally Hero Death Blade (ATK: 3000, LV: 4)!" With the card onto the tray, a metal red and black warrior with a large blade strapped to its right arm and a green visor appeared, making a mechanical grunt as it did so.

"Ally Hero?" Yusei questioned, having never heard of such cards before. "They must be a combination of Judai's Elemental Heroes and the Allies of Justice."

"When Death Blade is Summoned, I receive 3000 damage to my Life Points as punishment for using its power!" In a flash red energy completely consumed the body of the D-Wheel, and when it died down the smirking Riding Roid looked upon Yusei with a sneer.

Yusei: LP 4000

X Roid: LP 1000

"How can you use such a suicidal strategy?" Yusei questioned. "3000 points for a Level 4 monster is unparalleled, but it's not worth being reduced to 1000 Life Points in one turn for."

"On the contrary Fudo Yusei," X responded, revealing a card from his hand. "At this moment I activate the effect of Ally Hero Death Converter from my hand. When my own card effect causes me damage, I can discard this card to Special Summon from my hand or Cemetery 1 Ally Hero whose ATK is within that damage."

"So that's what the damage is for," Yusei realized. "Ally Heroes must support each other and use self-damaging effects as a means to an end."

"Come forth, Ally Hero Tyrant Master (ATK: 3000, LV: 10)!" The Riding Roid then placed yet another card onto the tray, calling up a tall metal-looking figure in a foot-length cloak, with 4 arms crossed under 3-spiked shoulder pads, and a face hidden behind a black faceplate.

"Battle! I attack Tricler with Death Blade!" The original monster was quick to jump forward, slicing Yusei's monster in two with its sword and creating a rather large explosion before the monster returned to place. "When Death Blade destroys a monster in battle, normally I would take damage equal to its ATK."

"Normally?" Yusei inquired as he reached into his Deck, pulling out a card to produce a 2-wheeled motor-like monster with crossed arms that turned blue instantly (DEF: 200, LV: 2).

"Due to Tyrant Master, no damage is registered to my Life Points." The robot informed him before pointing at the new monster. "Battle! Tyrant Master, destroy Bicler!" Two red blasts of energy then came from the eye plates of the giant monster's mask, causing the small robot to explode instantly beside Yusei.

"Very well," Yusei responded, "but now I Special Summon Uncycler from my Deck (DEF: 100, LV: 1)!" Yusei then placed a card onto the tray that produced a taller, slimmer robot on a single wheel, one that had a sterner look on its face.

"Then I set 1 card and end my turn," the robot passively stated, the confident look on its face. "Tell me Yusei, what will you do to respond to this pressing duel?"

"I'll fight until I win," Yusei shot back, reaching for his Deck and pulling a single card. "I draw (Yusei: 2 SPC)/X Roid: 2 SPC), and I summon Junk Synchron (ATK: 1300, LV: 3)!" With his card onto the tray, Yusei brought forward his podgy orange robot-like warrior, which waved its hand and called up a single card.

"Due to Junk Synchron's effect, I Special Summon Bicler from my Cemetery (DEF: 200, LV: 2)!" In a flash the two-wheeled monster from earlier appeared and Yusei stated, "I tune my Level 3 Junk Synchron to my Level 1 Bicler and my level 1 Uncycler!" Pulling a pull chord on its body, the orange monster changed into 3 green rings which the monster monsters flew up into, causing them to become 3 white orbs and then a column of light.

"The Clustering resolves will forge themselves into an iron shield," Yusei chanted, taking a card from his Extra Deck and putting it into play. "Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Stand strong, Junk Gardna (DEF: 2600, LV: 6)!" Out of the light then emerged a green, blocky mechanical-looking warrior with grey tube-like upper arms and thick green firearms; it put t6hese together and formed a shield before turning blue.

"I also set 1 card and end my turn," Yusei insisted, looking at his field with grave concern. _"This defence won't hold him for very long. If he summons too many more monsters, my Life Points are toast."_

"Draw (Yusei: 3 SPC/X Roid: 3 SPC)," the X-infused Riding Roid then shouted, turning to Yusei with a rather dark sneer. "I activate my Trap Card, A-Force! With this card, all attacking Ally Hero Monsters gain 400 ATK for every A-HERO during this turn; and in addition, they inflict penetration damage!"

"You're kidding!" Yusei gasped, watching as both monsters behind the Riding Roid prepared for battle.

"I attack Junk Gardna with Death Blade (ATK: 3800)!" Shooting forward yet again, the blade-wielding monster jumped up in front of the blue warrior and struck its shield; however, instead of the monster being smashed, the monster simply bounced off and turned blue as it bounced back to the Riding Roid's side.

"Once per turn," Yusei revealed, his form glowing red as he received his damage, "Junk Gardna cannot be destroyed by battle; and any monster that battles it is changed to Defence Position after Damage Calculation (DEF: 0). Therefore, it takes 2 attacks to completely wipe out my monster.

"Unfortunately for you, I happen t have a second monster! Battle! I destroy Junk Gardna with Tyrant Master (ATK: 3800)!" Holding all 4 of its arms in a circle, the monster fired a huge blast of energy at Yusei's monster, one that smashed it and created a shockwave that struck Yusei as well.

Yusei: LP 1600

X Roid: LP 1000

"Your Life Points are falling even further," X stated snidely, watching as his monster crossed its arms and turned blue (DEF: 2800). "And now, your Life Points are exposed. I set 1 card. During the End Phase, normally I would take 2400 damage due to A-Force; but due to my Tyrant Master, I take none of that!"

"_As long as Tyrant Master is in play, he's protected from any and all damage; and because he has only 1000 Life Points, he can't be destroyed. I have to do something."_ "It's my turn (Yusei: 4 SPC/X Roid: 4 SPC)!" Yusei yelled out, snapping up a card just in time to see a rather good card.

"I activate my Trap Card, Synchro Spirits!" Yusei declared, his monster shooting from his Graveyard. "By excluding Junk Gardna from my Cemetery, I Special Summon Junk Synchron (DEF: 500, LV: 3), Uncycler (DEF: 100, LV: 1) and Bicler (DEF: 200, LV: 2)!" As Yusei spoke, all 3 monsters from the previous turn appeared on his field, blue and with arms crossed, as he held up yet another card.

"Next, I Summon Tuning Supporter (ATK: 100, LV: 1)!" Placing the card onto the tray revealed Yusei's classed yellow little robot, which took up an aggressive stance as Yusei motioned with his hand. "Now, I Tune my Level 3 Junk Synchron to my now Level 2 Tuning Supporter, my Level 2 Bicler and my Level 1 Uncycler!"

Pull-starting itself again, the blue warrior machine changed into 3 green rings again; and all 3 other monsters jumped up into these, to become 5 white orbs that fused into one. Then, the three green orbs disappeared and the floating orb burst into a trail of glowing white energy, which created a contrail over Yusei's head.

"The clustering hopes will become a new shining star," he chanted, gaining a look of resolve. "Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" In a flash all of the glittering energy condensed together and took the form of his white-long-winged dragon, which screeched and turned to face Ghost in an instant.

"Next, I activate my other Trap Card: Buster Mode! Transform, Stardust!" Roaring loudly, Yusei's dragon shot into the sky as blue energy streams shot out from the new card. These streams then wound around the limbs, chest and wings of the dragon, fusing together into blue pieces of armour with purple gems and white edges. "Behold, Stardust Dragon/Buster (ATK: 3000, LV: 10)!"

"So your Synchro Monster has evolved," the Riding Roid realized, giving Yusei the same confident look. "I'm impressed that you can pull such a combo."

"The combo continues," Yusei revealed. "Since Tuning Supporter was used in the Synchro Summon, I draw 1 card!" Pulling up the card from his Deck, Yusei then yelled out, "Battle! Stardust/Buster, destroy Death Blade! Assault Sonic Burst!" Screeching loudly, the dragon shot a blue burst of energy from its mouth that tore through the bladed warrior, reducing it to nothing in a blink of an eye.

"How interesting," the robot chuckled, holding up a card from his hand. "However, I activate the effect of Ally Hero Hell's Returner in my hand. The destroyed monster's ATK is dealt as damage to both players!"

"I'm afraid not!" Yusei yelled, holding his hand to the man. "Stardust/Buster's effect takes priority! By releasing this card, I negate a card effect and destroy that card! Revenge Storm!" Letting out a low hiss, the dragon's body dissolved into blue dust that shot over to the card in the Riding Roid's hand, infusing into it and causing it to simply dissolve.

"In my Main Phase 2, I set 2 cards," Yusei declared, placing 2 new set cards where his old ones were earlier. "In my End Phase, I Special Summon Stardust Dragon/Buster from the Cemetery due to its effect!" Out of nowhere new blue energy amassed and collected into a single entity, forming the armoured dragon once again.

"An impressive combination," the Riding Roid admitted, "But now I can completely seal your fate! It's my turn (Yusei: 5 SPC/X Roid: 5 SPC)!" Snapping up the card into its hand, the robot then motioned to turn the card on its tray vertical, causing the monster to uncross its arms and regain its colours.

"I attack your Stardust Dragon/Buster with Tyrant Master! Take this!" Again, the monster held up its four hands and shot a burst of energy into the dragon's form, causing all the armour to explode off of its body and leaving only the original white dragon. "Of course, when a /Buster monster is destroyed, its original form, in this case Stardust Dragon (ATK: 2500, LV: 8), is Special Summoned from the Cemetery."

"_But even that isn't enough," Yusei realized. "Unless I can draw a very good card soon, I can't get past that monster or even touch his Life Points!"_

"It is now over!" The robot revealed, taking both of its cards and spinning them around. "With the effect of Speed World 2, I give up 4 Speed Counters (Yusei: 5 SPC/X Roid: 1 SPC) and cause you 800 damage for every card in my hand. At that moment, I have Speed Spell – The End of Storm and Speed Spell – Draw Accel in my hand, so take the 1600 damage you have left!"

"I'll not falter now!" Yusei yelled, spinning one of his cards around. "I activate Damage Close! I halve all effect damage I receive this turn." Bracing himself, Yusei watched as his D-Wheel's console shocked him, making his body tense but not costing him all of his Life Points.

Yusei: LP 800

X Roid: LP 1000

"Since I have no more cards I can play," the Riding Roid declared, finally sounding irritated, "I have to end my turn at this point. However, Fudo Yusei, do not think that you are safe. In 2 more of my turns I will have enough Speed Counters to wipe you out; and that's assuming that I don't draw a way to finish you before then."

"Let's see how my Luck of the Draw is first," Yusei shot back. "During the End Phase, for every time Effect Damage was halved, Damage Close gives me one draw!" Reaching for his Deck, Yusei pulled a Magic Card which showed some promise, but it was far from what he was looking for.

"_There's only a single card I can draw now to save myself," _Yusei realized, closing his eyes and reaching for his Deck. Instantly he began to hear his heartbeat, the pulse of his Dragon's Birthmark; and then, with reflexes pf a cat, he snapped his eyes open and pulled his new card.

"It's my turn (Yusei: 6 SPC/X Roid: 2 SPC)!" Yusei yelled, seeing that the card in his hand was exactly what he had needed; but first, he grabbed his previous draw and revealed it. "I activate Speed Spell – Vision Wind, and Special Summon a Level 2 or lower monster. Return to me, Tuning Supporter (ATK: 100, LV: 2)!"

Out of the surrounding wind emerged s small twister which changed into the yellow robot from earlier; then, Yusei revealed his new draw, smacking it onto the tray. "Next, I Summon Salvation Dragon – Saviour Dragon (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" A burst of light then appeared from the card, producing the ominous red teardrop-shaped dragon in the skies above.

"I tune my Level 1 Saviour Dragon to my Level 8 Stardust Dragon and my Level 1 Tuning Supporter!" Shooting up high into the sky, the red dragon became the size of a jet while the other two flew into its body. Once there, they broke down into a total of 9 white stars inside a green ring within the dragon; and then the formed a column, changing the whole dragon into light.

"The shine of the clustering stars will illuminate a new miracle," Yusei declared, his body becoming consumed by blue light and being absorbed into the creating above. "Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Descend down in Light, Saviour Star Dragon (ATK: 3800, LV: 10)!" The massive blue and silver 4-winged wyvern then exploded from the light and shot overhead, Yusei inside its rainbow field and looking down at the duel.

"I activate the effect of Saviour Star Dragon, and negate the effect of Tyrant Master for this turn!" Yusei yelled out, getting a rather stunned reaction from the Robot below. "Monster effects cannot destroy Tyrant Master; but it is only unaffected by Magic and Trap Cards. Or at least, it was!"

"So you managed to remove my monster's defence," the Robot yelled. "You can still only reduce me to 200 Life Points, so I won't die this turn."

"Let's just see about that," Yusei replied snappily, grabbing a card from his hand and placing it into the tray. "I activate Speed Spell – Speed Energy, and give 200 ATK to my Dragon for each of my 6 Speed Counters (ATK: 5000)!"

"What? 5000 Points! That's insane!" The robot realized, watching the dragon fold up its wings and glow blue as it shot ahead into the sun. Moments later, it could behold the form of the dragon shooting right back at it within a comet-like aura, blasting straight though his monster and causing him to be blown into pieces of flying scrap.

Within the Dragon, Yusei breathed a sigh of relief and lessened the strain of his breathing as his dragon levelled out, slowing and folding itself out while its aura faded. However, something unique happened; the aura of the field around him then changed into a solid white glow, and his D-Wheel disappeared to leave him floating in that void.

Turning his head slightly, Yusei could see that this field was in fact the foggy white matrix from Z-ONE; though he had not seen it before, he knew it from Judai and Taiyou's descriptions. Turning his head, his attention went to a glowing red orb, which faded away to reveal the comma-like white machine just before Yusei.

"Who… are you…?" Yusei questioned, just now noticing that he felt weightless, without any sensation; as though he was separated from his body. Just after he asked, red lines began to glow along its form and a deep, low voice sounded, seemingly from everywhere.

"_Fudo Yusei... Saviour Star Dragons' power has extended beyond the barriers of your reality, your plane of existence. It has brought you to me."_

"And what… what has it brought me here for?"

"_So that I can show you a new possibility. Saviour Star is not the only monster that can evolve beyond Stardust Dragon. Look in your hand."_ Turning to his right hand, Yusei saw that he was holding two cards in his hand; one was his Saviour Star Dragon, the other the blank Synchro Monster card Dark Glass had tossed him.

"_My Envoy had given you a power that transcends Synchro Summoning; Accel Synchro. If you want to obtain it, you must feel the power of your soul. You must feel the power that dwells within the human heart. You must harness the power of Momentum."_

"Mo… Momentum's power?" Yusei questioned, his eyes growing wider.

"_With a calm mind, and concentration, you can tap into the energy within yourself. That is Clear Mind. Use its power, and attain a new possibility that can surpass the Machine Emperors. If you can do so, then Destiny itself will serve you..."_

With that said, the being's form was recovered in the red beam of energy; this time, it expanded to fill Yusei's whole vision. Then, the red field changed into a black space-like field, with Yusei shooting by glowing red lights as he heard his heartbeat, felt the pulsation of his birthmark; and as it glowed, the whole field around him changed into a green glow.

"Clear Mind!" Yusei realized, his eyes gaining a total look of calm as the outside of his dragon burst into light. Just as with Accel Synchro, his dragon sped up until it reached nearly the speed of light; within the green field, Yusei saw an image come onto his card, along with a name.

Mere moments later, the dragon reappeared and shot straight up into the sky towards the clouds, its wings outstretches perpendicular to its body. Its blue aura then turned green and its whole body cracked up; this form then exploded into a new beast, one whose body was glowing with and trailing green energy.

This new dragon had snow-white skin, except for black scales on the underside of its neck and a spike on its mouthless chin. Horns much like the other white dragon's adorned its face; bit this creature had glowing green eyes, giving it a more mechanical look.

Its legs were also different; three-joined, with 4 fore-facing claws and a 5th facing inwards. A long segmented neck and tail were matched with massive wings, with wing-like struts jutting back 90 degrees to these. Two black claws were along these upper edges, matching the black talons along the strong-looking hands of the beast.

Up at the cloud level, this dragon's body let out a rainbow glow that shone across the black clouds, creating a warm and calming feeling among those below. Within the dragon, Yusei felt this beast's energy as one with his soul, and knew that whatever that being was, it had spoken true.

Seconds after it arose to the sky, this dragon let out a mighty roar, creating a shockwave across the whole sky. Aiming forwards, its body burst into a green comet and it shot towards the road below, completely dissolving and releasing Yusei and his D-Wheel to continue.

Glancing at the card in his hand, Yusei now saw that his card bore a name, an image and 10 stars; meaning that it had truly taken form due to him. "Shooting Star Dragon…" he said to himself, reading the name as he took it and Saviour Star and placed them back into the Extra Deck, shooting back off towards the others.

Standing atop the Public Security Maintenance Bureau Building's roof, Placido looked out upon the ensuing chaos from the WRGP practice and his Diablo army. However, what had truly caught his attention was the green-glowing dragon that had shot up into the sky, illuminating the darkness for a few brief moments.

"Yusei… has he truly reached the power of God?" he then questioned, his eye tightening into a frustrated flare while his hood and cloak blew in the high winds. "A new possibility… is this the Power of Dark Glass, dogging me even now? Or is Fudo Yusei truly beyond the level of humans?"

Stepping up behind the man, Alessandro appeared in his robed form and began to stare down with Placido, initially saying nothing but simply giving a solemn look on the ground below. Soon though, Placido asked quickly, without turning to the man, "Is Lucciano fully rebuilt?"

"Her body is finished being repaired," Alessandro answered honestly, "but her power cells need time to fully regain their energy. She will be ready and able to work with us again, rather soon."

"That's good news," Placido responded calmly. However, both of the men were then drawn to the sound of explosions below and off to one side; and turning to face them, they saw the source of the problem instantly.

"That guy… getting in our way like that," Alessandro hissed angrily while his rage was mirrored on Placido's face. On the ground below, Paradox could be seen shooting along, blasting his way through every Riding Roid in his path before eventually breaking away from them.

"We're losing enough Riding Roids to the Signers and alike as it is," Alessandro added. "We can't afford for Paradox to be smashing our hard work the same way."

"Hold on," Placido said soothingly, putting his arm out over Alessandro's chest to stop him advancing. Looking down upon the roads, he could see that Paradox was changing course, heading straight for a specific group of riders. "This may very well play into our hands. Let us watch."

Nodding, Alessandro pulled up his mechanical arm and turned on his display, zooming in on the D-Wheel of Paradox; while Placido simply brought up the visual on the inside of his eye piece, watching the chaos unfold.

Below, on the roads, Kyojo shot along by himself, having blasted apart close to a dozen Riding Roids on his own. When his field of gaze shifted, he could clearly see Paradox shooting along by himself; and a look of anger completely consumed the rider's face, his own pulse reflecting this.

With an act of total impulse, he jumped his D-Wheel laterally, getting onto the adjacent road that Paradox was on. Before the masked duellist could register, Kyojo rammed his vehicle into the side of Paradox's massive D-Wheel, and did so again and again about five times until the Masked Duellist gave him his full attention.

"Yeah, you'd better look at me, you mother-fucking bastard!" Kyojo yelled, his rage in full force by now. "You think I would just let you go after what you've done?"

"And what is it that I have done, or that you think I have done?" Paradox asked calmly, making Kyojo growl before barking another enraged rant.

"Don't play that fucking game with me! You're the one who's caused all this pain. Crow, Hell Kaiser, Endymion, Taiyou's World… you created all this destruction, this anguish and agony… and for what? What the fuck could you have possibly gained?"

"It's not about what I've gained," Paradox then responded, keeping his demeanour. "All I've done is ensure the balance, by undoing some of the damage bastard humans like you have unleashed upon this planet."

"I don't believe a word of that fucking bullshit!" Kyojo yelled, grabbing a hand of cards. "But after I trash you like last year's scrap metal, you'll wish you'd been straight with me! I'll beat the truth out of you!"

"Very well, human." Obliging, Paradox drew his own hand of cards; and the both players yelled,

"DUEL!"

Kyojo: LP 4000

Paradox: LP 4000

**Card of the Week – X**

**Ally Hero Tyrant Master**

**Type:** DARK

**Level:** 10

**Family:** [Warrior/Effect]

**Effect:** This card cannot be Normal Summoned or set. This card cannot be Special Summoned other than by the effect of a monster that has "Ally Hero" in its name. If your Life Points are 1000 or less, this card cannot be destroyed by battle or by card effects, and is unaffected by your opponent's Magic or Trap Cards. Also, while you control this card, damage to your Life Points becomes 0.

**ATK/** 3000

**DEF/** 2800


	34. The Undying Rage Within

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 34 – ****The Undying Rage Within! Sudden Death Duel, Kyojo vs. Paradox**

Riding alongside each other, Paradox and Kyojo were in the midst of starting Riding Duel, their D-Wheels primed and their hands drawn. "I'll take the first move," Kyojo snarled, his desire to avenge his friends forcing up his rage.

"Do as you wish, miserable human," Paradox responded, an impassive look upon his face under his mask. "But I doubt it will help you; after all, it failed to help any of your friends."

"Well then I'll show you what the first turn can mean. I draw!" The instant the card was into his grasp, he snatched up 2 other cards from the sleeve of his hand and placed them into the tray. "I Summon Masked Dragon (DEF: 1100, LV: 3)!" Generating a blue vortex, Kyojo spawned his red and white bone-armoured dragon in a crouching position, where it instantly turned blue. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Oh, what's this then?" Paradox chastised, looking at Kyojo via the monitor. "I thought you wanted to show me the same pain as I've supposedly caused you. I'm still here, and I felt nothing. I suppose that makes you and out-and-out liar, doesn't it?"

"You watch your tongue to me hos!" Kyojo snapped, giving Paradox the finger with his right hand. "You've fucked with my friends these past few weeks, and I've been a fucking asshole myself to have allowed it. But no more! I'm gonna enjoy tearing you limb from limb."

"Are you done with your little speech?" Paradox questioned, sounding rather irritated. "Because you're truly starting to bore me. It's nothing new; none of you bastard humans were a gold challenge; well, except perhaps Hell Kaiser, but he lost anyway…"

"He didn't lose to you!" Kyojo shot back, clearly growing more and more angry. "All you did was hurt him so badly he couldn't continue, and then you retreated. You're not a duellist at all; you're a fucking chicken-shit coward!"

"How dare you talk to me that way?" Paradox finally shouted, clenching his grip around his two throttles on his D-Wheel. "The last pathetic anthropoid to talk to me that way; I choked the life out of her. But I digress; I'll show you true pain now. You know not true anguish until you've seen everyone you love torn apart before your very eyes."

Turning back to his Deck, Paradox let out a light cackle as he drew his card without words (Kyojo: 1 SPC/Paradox: 1 SPC); then, he took a single card from his hand and spun it around. "From my Extra Deck, I choose to exclude my Cyber End Dragon!" In an instant Hell Kaiser's three-headed mechanical dragon emerged with an inorganic roar, completely covered in blackness and eyes glowing yellow.

"What the fuck is…"

"Become one with the darkness, Sin Cyber End Dragon (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!" IN a flash, the dragon was completely consumed by the shadowy power, changing its form into the white, black and grey-armoured version that Crow had faced, with all of its heads snarling at Kyojo.

"Sin Monsters are summoned by excluding their normal form," Paradox explained. "They also can only exist with a Field Magic in play, none of my other monsters can attack, and only 1 Sin Monster may be in play at once. After that, their effects are based on their original counterpart."

"Hold on; then you mean…"

"Sin Cyber End Dragon inflicts Penetration Damage!" Roaring darkly, three streams of black energy shot from the jaws of the monster; but before they did, Kyojo was quick to flip 2 set cards.

"Hold on hos! I activate Damage Condenser by discarding Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon; and I chain Damage Gate to that! Thanks to these two effects, after I take damage, I get to reap the benefits of their effects!" Seconds later, the energy struck and exploded the dragon with a resounding crash; and then Kyojo was struck by their power as well, masking him scream in pain while his D-Wheel spun out for about 5 seconds.

Kyojo: LP 1100

Paradox: LP 4000

Grunting in pain, Kyojo reached onto his tray and threw his 3 face-up cards into the Cemetery; but a second later, another card slid from the Cemetery slot and he grabbed it, holding it up. "Due to Damage Gate, I can instantly Special Summon a monster from my Cemetery whose ATK is within my taken damage; come back, Red-Eyes (ATK: 2800, LV: 10)!"

With a flash of energy, Kyojo's monster re-ascended to the field; the metallic black wyvern with red trim and gemstones, which snarled at Paradox while 2 cards slid from Kyojo's Deck. "Next, due to Damage Condenser, the same occurs from my Deck. Come on, Tyrant Dragon (ATK: 2900, LV: 8)!"

In an instant, a fireball emerged that spawned the orange-scaled dragon right beside Kyojo, snarling as well while Kyojo held up the final card. "Last, but not least; since Masked Dragon was destroyed by battle, I Special Summon Boost Dragon from my Deck (ATK: 1500, LV: 3)!"

The last monster to appear, a smaller dragon with long, thin wings wearing what appeared to be jet boosters, and a long tail which resembled injection wires for a fuel system. "Well there you go; I had 1 monster earlier, and now I have 3."

"Such a display is formidable, but far from invincible," Paradox responded. "Especially after I set 4 cards. Well, come now; show me that pain you promised me, or prove yourself a liar."

"I never make promises I don't intend to deliver on!" Kyojo warned. "I Draw (Kyojo: 2 SPC/Paradox: 2 SPC)! And then, I activate Boost Dragon's effect; by releasing this monster, I add 1500 extra points to one dragon I control until the End Phase (ATK: 4300)!" The smallest dragon then rose into the air and dissolved into green energy, attaching to the larger metal dragon and boosting its power.

"In the turn this effect is used, I cannot Normal Summon or set," Kyojo stated. "However, I can certainly activate Darkness Metal's effect; I Special Summon my monster from the Cemetery again (ATK: 1500, LV: 3) and use it to power up Tyrant Dragon (ATK: 4400)!" For a quick instant the small dragon appeared again, only to change back into energy and infuse into the other dragon a moment later.

"Time to start delivering on that damage I promised you! Red-Eyes, destroy Sin Cyber End Dragon! Darkness Metal Flare!" The metallic black dragon was quick to create and fire a burst of energy from its jaws, shooting straight through the chest of the metal beast and into Paradox's body on the D-Wheel. The monster then exploded outright; but rather than show pain, Paradox simply revealed a set card.

Kyojo: LP 1100

Paradox: LP 3700

"I activate Sin Tune," he revealed, reaching for his Deck. "After a Sin Monster I control is destroyed, I can use this effect to draw 2 cards." With a second Paradox had pulled the 2 cards from his Deck and placed them in his hand; then, with a dark chuckle, he watched Kyojo's agonized face.

"_That was an outright trap," _he realized, hitting himself mentally for falling for the oldest trick in the book. _"He wanted that dragon destroyed so he could replenish his cards; and he still has 3 set cards. Fortunately for me, Tyrant Dragon is immune to traps."_ "Battle! I attack you directly with Tyrant Dragon!"

"I don't think so!" Paradox insisted, pointing to another card on his field. "I activate a Trap Card!"

"Sorry boy, but Trap Cards don't work on Tyrant Dragon!"

"Who said this Trap Card was intended for your Dragon?" Paradox questioned slyly, watching Kyojo's dumbfounded-ness as the blast hit him square on and he was shrouded in smoke. Pitch-black smoke; not the kind produced from fire, but the kind that enveloped the metal dragon earlier.

When the smoke lifted completely, Paradox's Trap Card was right beside him and a black card floating in front of him; then, he held up his Trap Card and explained it. "Due to the effect of Sacrifice of Darkness, I negate a direct attack's Battle Damage; then, I add one Sin Monster with an identical Level from my Deck to my hand."

Watching intently, Kyojo saw the card that was floating fall slowly into Paradox's grasp, where he simply stashed it into the compartment on his D-Wheel for his hand. "Anything else you'd like to show me?"

"Growling, Kyojo grabbed the remainder of his hand and simply threw it down onto the tray. "I set 3 cards and end my turn."

"What a waste of time. I Draw (Kyojo: 3 SPC/Paradox: 3 SPC)!" Sneering under his mask, Paradox placed his drawn card into his hand and grabbed the one that was produced earlier. "Now, to show you a monster you'll be familiar with. I exclude Red Daemon's from my Extra Deck…"

"No!"

"…and call forth Sin Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" Out of the D-Wheel spawned a darkness that wrapped around the form of Kyojo's red and grey dragon, converting its form into the twisted version that Crow before him was shown. "And next, I equip Sin Arms to this monster among my face-down cards!" Instantly a Trap Card was revealed upon Paradox's field; one that encased his monster in a black fog-like aura.

"Due to this card, my monster inherits 500 extra points (ATK: 3500), plus half those of its attack target. Go, destroy Tyrant Dragon (ATK: 4950)!" The dragon before Paradox then created a black fireball on its hand; one that, as it show towards its target, grew larger. However, Kyojo once again responded with a Trap Card.

"Don't think so! I activate Guard Block!" Pulling a single card from his Deck, Kyojo watched painfully as one of his best monster was simply incinerated by the vile beast before him; and before it even returned to its place, Paradox flipped his last Trap Card.

"I activate the Permanent Trap, Sin Strike! When a Sin Monster destroys a monster in battle, if my opponent has another attack target, then once per turn it gains an additional attack (ATK: 4900)!" Watching angrily, the dragon took its claws and slashed across the chest of Kyojo's dragon; but before any damage reached him, he was forced to use another card.

"Go, Trap of Darkness! For 1000 Life Points, I exclude my Guard Block from my Cemetery and use its effect!" Once again, Kyojo drew and was forced to look upon his dragon's form as it exploded; then, with a look of complete anger, he showed off his last set card.

Kyojo: LP 100

Paradox: LP 3700

"I activate Recharge Damage!" Pulling all 3 cards from his Deck in an instant, Paradox simply laughed at the man and looked to his own cards, sneering.

"How sad. You may have gotten a whole new hand; but it cost you every card you had. My dragon, on the other hand, is still here; and so long as it is here, it will obliterate every card in its path."

"Like I'd let that happen!"

"You have no choice, pathetic human. I'll destroy you; just like you destroy this world with your greed, hatred, violence… or have I got the wrong Ryukishi Kyojo, the former Duel Mobster?" When Kyojo gave no reply other than a growl, Paradox simply placed 2 cards onto the tray silently, ending his turn without speaking.

"I Draw (Kyojo: 4 SPC/Paradox: 4 SPC)!" _"I'm way under the safety line here. I have 100 Life Points and he has 4 Speed Counters. If he has any Speed Spells in his hand at all, he can end it; but not if I play to his battle aggression."_ "I activate the Speed Spell – Angel Baton!"

"All you seem to do is draw cards and do cheap tricks. How about a real move?" Paradox criticized, watching Kyojo draw 2 cards and take one from his hand into his Cemetery.

"I set 2 cards. Then, in the End Phase, I exclude Red-Eyes Wyvern and call on an old friend… Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon (ATK: 2800, LV: 10)!" Taking one of the cards out of his Cemetery, Kyojo called back up his massive black metal wyvern with a loud roar, giving Paradox a sense of things to come.

"An impressive monster; but one that I've defeated with ease already. And now, I'll show you that your monster is worthless, just like you bastard humans! It's my turn (Kyojo: 5 SPC/Paradox: 5 SPC)!" Looking at his card only for a second, Paradox pointed and yelled, "Battle! I destroy your Wyvern with my Red Daemon's (ATK: 4900)!"

"Don't think so! I activate my Trap Card: Calamity of the Wicked! When a Monster my opponent controls attacks, all Magic and Trap Cards are instantly destroyed!" Kyojo simply sneered as his own set card and Paradox's 4 cards shattered into shards of their images; then, two cards slid from Kyojo's Cemetery and he held them up.

"A good trick, reducing my Dragon's power to normal (ATK: 3000)," Paradox complemented, "but it's still not enough. You still lose!"

"Try again," Kyojo responded, showing off the two cards. "I exclude my Great Dragon's Heart and my Boost Dragon; and so now, all the power of Boost Dragon goes to Wyvern for the turn (ATK: 4300)! Counterattack!" Roaring viciously, another ball of energy shot from the jaws of the dragon, completely exploding its aggressor.

Kyojo: LP 100

Paradox: LP 2400

"How's that?" Kyojo questioned. "You're receiving damage from a human like me! How does that make you feel?"

"Simple-minded anthropoid," Paradox sneered, a card sliding from his Cemetery as Kyojo spoke. "I activate the effect of Sin Spirits. If both this set card and one of my Sin Monsters is destroyed in the same turn, by excluding this card, I Summon a Sin Token with the same ATK, DEF, Level and Type as the aggressor (ATK: 4300, LV: 10)!"

Watching in horror, Kyojo saw dark energy pull itself into the shape of his dragon; then, it solidified into a version of his dragon with the Sin mask and wings; one which made a blood-curdling, evil roar which was unlike the original monster. "Go! Sin Token, destroy Red-Eyes Darkness Metal!"

Roaring, both dragons quickly formed the red and white orbs of energy in their mouths, each one firing theirs into the chest of the other and exploding both of them. "Now, behold and comprehend the thought and feel of complete despair and solitude; the loss of everything you have piece by piece, the same way I felt it so long ago."

"What kind of garbage are you trying to sandbag me with?" Kyojo questioned hostilely. "You talk about losing everything, watching what you love being destroyed; but what have you ever loved? What did you have that was important to you? The answer is nothing! You never truly called anything special!"

"You dare utter that insult to me!" Paradox snapped, his eyes beginning to glow through his mask. "I know more about loss and pain, than you ever could!"

"But see that's the thing," Kyojo responded harshly. "Those who have lost can understand the pain of others; they can empathize. They do not spread that same misery and anguish among other innocent people. The only monsters that can do something so twisted are those who felt nothing to begin with!"

Gasping angrily at Kyojo's comment, Paradox simply grunted and reached for a card in his hand before slapping it onto the tray. "I shall enjoy shredding your hope, before your body; and I'll show you that pain through Sin Ultimate Gem God – Rainbow Dragon (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!"

Once the card was upon the tray, a series of rainbow sparks and bolts emanated from the Duel Disc and formed into an aura of rainbow energy. This then became surrounded by the black aura, and forged it into the black-armoured white dragon Paradox had attained against Endymion. Snarling, the beast simply fell into line with Paradox's D-Wheel and continued on.

"I end my turn at this point; because I know that you cannot continue. Should you choose to, you will simply continue to lose everything you put into play; then your Life Points and your fighting spirit will crumble at my feet; and then I'll show you a true agony, a crushing despair the likes of which your mortal brain cannot even comprehend."

"_This Paradox guy... he's too strong..."_ Kyojo realized, feeling the sweat pouring down his forehead and hearing his loud, fast heartbeat. _"I've been searching for somebody like Taiyou since he passed on... somebody who could give me the duelling fight I could otherwise only dream of... but, this guy is just so far above me... can I even hope for a miracle...?"_

"_To think, I once looked up to you Kyojo," _Taiyou's spirit said in the back of Kyojo's mind, his form illuminated in the blackness of Kyojo's thoughts._ "You need to collect yourself. Ryukishi Kyojo... you're the strongest duellist I ever faced, and nobody can topple your reign. But you're a calculating Duellist; rushing head-first into battle is not your forte. Fight not as a demon of vengeance, like all those people we had to face; fight as a true duellist, and fate will guide victory into your hands."_

Snapping his eyes back open, Kyojo looked to see his hand, which had just been trembling, to be completely still. His heart beat normally, and he was focussed again. _"I've got a lot of work to do to make up for all this lost time; but here it goes!"_ "I draw (Kyojo: 6 SPC/Paradox: 6 SPC)!"

Looking down upon all the cards in his hand, he saw only one which offered any promise at this time. _"All of these other cards... they're just no good to me now. But my Deck has just given me a sign; and I'll follow its will, fighting to the end."_ "I activate Speed Spell – Over Speed!"

"Gambling on your Deck at a time like this?" Paradox questioned. "That's quite a bold move; I hope for your sake, miserable human, that it pays some dividend."

"Due to this card, I give up all Speed Counters I have right now, and any I gain for the next 3 Standby Phases (Kyojo: 0 SPC/Paradox: 6 SPC)!" Having played this card, Kyojo fell far back behind Paradox, just within range of sight; but as he did, a pair of cards shot out from his Cemetery.

"In return, I add one monster of 3 or fewer stars, and one Magic or Trap Card, from my Cemetery to my hand. I choose Masked Dragon and Damage Gate; and then I summon my Masked again (DEF: 1100, LV: 3)!" As with the first turn of the duel, Kyojo's dragon appeared before him in a crouching position and turned blue.

"I also set these 2 cards and end my turn!" _"Paradox could have ended this duel at any point by now; instead, he chose to go with the battle method. That tells me that either he has no Speed Spells in his hand, or he's not going to use them. Since he doesn't seem a completely straightforward guy, my bet is the former. That card will keep me safe for now!"_

"I draw (Kyojo: 0 SPC/Paradox: 7 SPC), and I activate my Speed Spell – Sin Burst! This card can only be activated if I have 7 or more Speed Counters, by selecting 1 Sin Monster in my Cemetery and one on my field who share a Level. Due to this, I exclude Sin Cyber End from my Cemetery; and until the End Phase, Sin Rainbow will gain its effect."

"Do your worst…" Kyojo stated calmly, looking at Paradox with nerves of steel.

"Hmm… your will has yet to break I see. Very well; I'll change that! Battle! Sin Rainbow, eliminate Masked Dragon and his Life Points! Chaos Rainbow!" Coiling around to face Kyojo, the white dragon opened its jaws wide and released a black-outlined burst of rainbow energy, shooting straight at the dragon; and before that hit, Kyojo sneered and showed a card.

"I activate Super Enrich Formula Z!" With the card on his field, Paradox growled while a green glow surrounded Kyojo. When the blast hit the dragon he controlled, the shockwave shattered the card but nothing more. "Thanks to the extra 4000 Life Points, I have pulled myself above the Safely Line."

Kyojo: LP 1200

Paradox: LP 2400

"True as that may be," Paradox stated calmly, "your Life Points are a mere half of mine."

"I still have more monsters than you," Kyojo stated, flipping his card, "or have you forgotten Damage Gate? Return to me, Red-Eyes (ATK: 2800, LV: 10)!" Once the card was up, the blue vortex spawned the gigantic black dragon once again; and as it did, a card slid from his Deck as well.

"Next, Masked Dragon's effect gives me a dividend; say hello Dread Dragon (ATK: 1100, LV: 2)!" Placing this card onto the tray created the brown-looking dragon with a large mouth, dreadlocks for hair and short, thin arms; this creature took up formation beside its host and snarled, looking at Paradox angrily.

"A Tuner Monster; that can only mean a Synchro Summon is about to occur," Paradox realized, sneering. "I set two cards and end my turn." With the last of his hand on the tray, Kyojo turned to his own Deck, fire in his soul, and prepared for his one shot at the win.

"Draw (Kyojo: 0 SPC/Paradox: 8 SPC)!" he issued, looking at his card and gaining a gasp of relief when he saw it. "I activate Red-Eyes' effect; I Special Summon Tyrant Dragon from my Cemetery. Of course, this costs one sacrifice; so farewell, Red-Eyes!" Roaring, the black dragon simply burs into flames, creating in its wake the orange and beige dragon anew (ATK: 2900, LV: 8). "Next, I place 2 cards face-down, and I tune my Level 2 Dread Dragon to my Level 8 Tyrant Dragon!"

Roaring out, the smaller dragon breathed out 2 white orbs before disappearing; once in the air, these orbs became green rings. Then, the larger dragon also roared and rose up into them, its body becoming a glowing yellow outline containing 8 white orbs along its length. In a flash, the entire thing burst into light, then fire.

"The ruler of Hell will now converge upon the earth," Kyojo chanted, holding up his ace card, "to extinguish the wicked souls and ignite the pyres of dogma! Synchro Summon! Incinerate, Trident Dragion (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" Bursting from the massive light, Kyojo's gigantic dragon loomed overtop of the smaller white dragon before Paradox, its heads growling as Kyojo's field became engulfed in flames.

"Due to this monster's effect, I now destroy my 2 set cards." Seconds later, two burning cards emerged on Kyojo's side of the field and flipped up, exploding and taking the flames with them. "But now, I can attack with it three times this turn."

"Attacking thrice with a weaker monster is a wasted effort," Paradox declared. "What exactly do you hope to accomplish?"

"The two set cards I destroyed tell the story," Kyojo explained. "First up, Dummy Marker lets me draw one card because it was destroyed; rather an innate effect." Once he had pulled his card, however, two more cards slid from his Cemetery, and he held them up to Paradox in order to create a stir.

"The other one is a second Great Dragon's Heart," he explained. "And by excluding it and Masked Dragon, Trident gets a boost for this round (ATK: 4400)! Go, barbecue that impostor of a dragon with Lucifer's Firestorm!" The middle head on the dragon's body then let out a vicious demonic roar before a burst of fire shot from it, exploding the white dragon on contact and making Paradox's D-Wheel stagger and actually lose ground on Kyojo.

Kyojo: LP 1200

Paradox: LP 2000

"The gap is slowly narrowing," Paradox realized aloud, "but it's a futile effort! Look upon my second Sin Tune!" Immediately Paradox reached for his Deck and grabbed two new cards, leaving Kyojo to conduct his Battle Phase peacefully.

"Let's see those cards save you from this! I double direct attack with Trident Dragion!" At that very moment both other heads on the dragon's body let out huge fireballs shooting straight at Paradox; but in reply, Paradox simply placed both of his cards into the Cemetery.

"Sorry to disappoint, but the last two cards were both Sin Gardna," he explained. "These two monsters can be discarded to negate 1 direct attack, and add 1 Sin Monster from my Deck to my hand!" Both fireballs stopped just short of hitting Paradox, their forms condensing completely into two cards and floating into Paradox's hand.

"_I lost my chance to kill him outright; but I can still win this match. The last three cards in my hand will see me do a victory lap. On my next turn, I start gaining Speed Counters again; but more importantly, if I've read this right, I still have a chance to win."_

"I set 3 cards. With my End Phase now here, Trident loses all its extra power (ATK: 3000); however, this game is in the home stretch."

"Indeed it is," Paradox agreed. "So prepare to crash and burn! It's the last turn (Kyojo: 0 SPC/Paradox: 9 SPC)! I Summon Sin Parallel Gear (ATK: 800, LV: 2)!" Surprisingly to Kyojo, Paradox's monster was nothing more than a small robot made mostly of golden gears, black sheet metal and some wiry-liking parts; however, Paradox also held up a card from his hand, and this made Kyojo nervous.

"Sin Parallel Gear is a most unique Tuner Monster," he revealed. "I can only Synchro Summon a Sin Synchro Monster with it; however, the Material I use can be one straight from my hand!" Watching Kyojo gasp, Paradox added, "I Tune my Level 2 Sin Parallel Gear to my Level 8 Sin Light and Darkness Dragon!"

Emerging in ghostly form, the white and black dragon from Paradox's match with Crow emerged and the gears on the other monster started turning. All but the two largest gears of its body then disappeared; these turned into green rings to surround the large dragon, changing it into 8 white orbs and then a column of light.

"Born from the Threshold of the Dimension of Darkness, time to lower the curtain on the Stage of Destruction!" Paradox chanted, a card materializing into his hand from black energy before he placed it onto the tray. "Synchro Summon! Destroy all, Sin Paradox Dragon (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!"

From the light first extended two long, grey wings; long and thin, with a white ribbed structure and tipped in three blade-like spikes. Next, three-clawed, three-jointed legs with spikes on the knees appeared, along with a lengthy segmented tail ending in a wedge-shaped stylized blade. Finally, the rest appeared as a mask-like face with two glowing red eyes in sunken shadows, and a chest with a yellow honeycomb gem on the front of it.

"What a powerful monster… To think that such a monster would exist, at the same level as my Trident Dragion, or the Saviour Dragons… and have such high power."

"When Sin Paradox Dragon is Synchro Summoned, its effect Special Summons one of my excluded Dragon-Type Synchro Monsters; come back to be, Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" In a flash of black flames the grey and red dragon appeared, its very form constrained within that black energy and its growling laboured and pained.

"Next, its power is subtracted from all of your monsters for this turn (ATK: 0)!" Gasping completely at such a move, Kyojo could only watch as his monster's power disappeared. "Now go, Sin Paradox, and eliminate that weak dragon and its master!"

"I don't think so!" Kyojo yelled, revealing the first of his three Trap Cards. 'I activate Holy Barrier – Mirror Force! Say goodbye to your monsters!" Rainbow-looking cracks then began to form over the entire bodies of both creatures, causing them to shatter and explode; then, in their absence, the power of the Dragon before Kyojo rose again (ATK: 3000).

"A clever counter; but not one I did not foresee!" Paradox issued. "Trap Card Open: Sin Mirage! When a Sin Monster is destroyed by a card effect, I Special Summon all Sins that were destroyed this turn back onto my field (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!" A beam of black energy then reappeared beside Paradox, releasing once again the form of his titanic grey masked dragon with a low, guttural growl.

"Now, let's try this again wit your Mirror Force used up! Sin Paradox, break Trident Dragion to pieces! Burst of Dark Worlds!" The dragon opened its mouth with such force that it cracked its mask and split in two, revealing grey leathery jaws with a double row of white recurved teeth; from its mouth, a blast of black energy shot at Kyojo and his dragon; but first, Kyojo played a set card.

"Permanent Trap: Great Dragon's Soul! Instead of being destroyed, Trident loses 300 ATK and DEF!" The blast of the monster then struck Kyojo's dragon in the chest; the energy thus bounced off and struck Kyojo, who cringed in pain while he received his most intense shock yet.

Kyojo: LP 200

Paradox: LP 2000

"_That monster's power... so wicked and vile. It's almost as though it's born... from Paradox's very rage itself. I've never seen a creature so wicked."_

"Your dragon may be safe now (ATK: 2700/DEF: 2500), but that does not mean you are," Paradox reaffirmed, his monster's mouth closing and the mask self-repairing as he spoke. "In my Main Phase 2, I activate Speed World 2's effect; and I remove 4 Speed Counters (Kyojo: 0 SPC/Paradox: 5 SPC) and have you take 800 damage due to the Speed Spell – Tyrant Force in my hand!"

"Counter Trap: Damage Polarilyzer!" Kyojo issued, getting Paradox to snarl. "That damage effect is negated, and we both draw a single card!" _"Come on Deck: Give me an answer for that effect!"_ Reaching for his Deck, Kyojo snatched up a single card and slowly pulled it to his face; but to his dismay, he saw nothing but his Debris Dragon. _"No... my Deck failed me..."_

"You couldn't save yourself in the end," Paradox issued, barely even looking at his drawn card. "Accept your demise like the ragged old cur you are. I pay 4 more Speed Counters (Kyojo: 0 SPC/Paradox: 1 SPC) and end this little charade!" Before Kyojo could even react, a burst of energy on the console of his D-Wheel caused it to completely explode; as Paradox turned to watch, he saw the fireball go shooting up into the air, then simply fall to the ground and slide to a stop.

"Ryukishi Kyojo," Paradox muttered to himself as his D-Wheel returned to Drive Mode. "Not even worth fearing anymore." A second later, however, Paradox was surprised and angry to see that a form came stepping out from the fire, Kyojo over its shoulders, before laying him down upon the ground. Looking closely, Paradox recognized on their face the form of Endymion's mask; and so he knew all at once who it would be.

"Even after all these years, your friend hasn't grown enough that he doesn't need you to save him," Paradox chastised, the angry look on Taiyou's face under his mask causing the eye pieces to glow. "No matter though; now I have a chance to face you, and extinguish you just like your old master."

"You scum," Taiyou hissed under his breath, watching as Paradox got off his D-Wheel and stepped onto the road. "Attacking my friends like this, destroying my world; I will stop you, and nothing will get in my way."

"Then you and the other Summoners can meet me at the Old Momentum at midnight tonight; while Placido entertains the Signers, I'll entertain your lot. After all, you're just dying to learn about the Signer of Destruction, are you not?"

"Filth," Taiyou simply hissed back, watching as Paradox got back onto his D-Wheel and shot off into the distance.

"An entertaining way to spend a few minutes, but how does that help us?" Alessandro inquired of Placido, both men having watched the duel and the brief confrontation to its end. "What did we gain from that?"

"The Circuit," Placido explained, turning to Alessandro as both their screens turned off. "That duel used so much energy that the Circuit gained 2 more sections. At this rate, only a few more duels will give us a completed Circuit before the Signers and I meet."

"That's great, El Capitán," Alessandro responded, his tone and face changing to become more enthused. This lasted a mere few seconds, as he then asked, "So… how do we get those last duels with so few Riding Roids left?"

"Go back to Jose and Lucciano," Placido instructed, half-answering the question. "You and he can do as you wish; it's time I took things into my own hands." Looking down, his eye and the Infinity patch on his eye plate glowed red as Placido jumped from the edge; then, drawing his sword, he created the red vortex again, emerging a second later in his riding form on top of Terrible Omen.

"Very well, El Capitán," Alessandro declared, placing his right hand on his chest and nodding before he disappeared. Meanwhile, Placido simply fell to the ground on his D-Wheel, starting up the boosters and shooting along at break-neck speed.

"Direct attack with Red Daemon's Dragon!" Jack yelled, watching as his Dragon blasted a hole straight through another Riding Roid; only this time, none sprung back up in its place. "I think that's the last of them."

"No more on our radars," Kiryu responded; however, a second later his expression turned panic and he gasped. When both Yusuriha and Jack looked at him in concern he added, "There's a signal coming up on us fast; and several signals behind us are…"

Before he could even finish, the sound of several explosion and screams in the background drew everyone's attention behind them. The first thing they saw was a large, white anthropomorphic creature in the far distance; however, as it neared, they realized what they were looking at. "Wisel…!" Yusuriha gasped.

"It's that guy…" Jack said bitterly. A second later, his suspicion was confirmed when Placido's form sped into view, just a few feet behind Jack; and then he pulled a card from his Deck, sneering as he did so.

"I activate Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity's effect," he stated flatly, "and I absorb Red Daemon's Dragon!" Shooting up beside its master, the gigantic white robot revealed itself to be in the state it had achieved in the field with Dark Glass; then; its Infinity Symbol shot out tentacles that wrapped around the red and grey dragon, dissolving its form into a flaming aura around the left arm (ATK: 6500, LV: 1).

"You bastard!" Jack yelled angrily. "Starting a duel with such an advantage!"

"Staring a duel?" Placido questioned. "You misunderstand; Dark Glass and I duelled during Battle Royal Mode, so defeating him did not reset my field! Now go, Machine Emperor Wisel! Smash his Strong Wind Dragon!" Letting out a mechanical groan, the monster jumped forward and sliced its bladed arm straight through the body of the green dragon on Jack's field, creating a huge pressure wave that got Jack rocking back and forth.

"Jack!" Both Kiryu and Yusuriha yelled in unison, watching as Jack just barely got lined back up before Placido made another move.

"Permanent Trap: Wise Returner! Once per turn, if Wisel equipped with a Synchro Monster destroys a monster in battle, it can attack a second time by releasing that Synchro monster!" Before Jack could even realize what was about to happen, the arm of the machine lost its aura and swung straight into the Wheel of Fortune; this resulted in an explosion, leaving the vehicle to fall onto its side and spin out while everyone else moved on.

"Such power to defeat Jack in a single turn," Kiryu realized, watching as Placido set 2 of the 3 cards in his hand. "But I'll bring it down! It's my turn (11 SPC)! I set one card, and I'll activate the effect of Infernity Death Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)! I skip its attack and destroy Wisel, taking half of its 3500 Points out of your score!"

"I don't think so!" Placido countered. "I activate the effect of Wisel Carrier 3; once per turn, I negate an effect to destroy a Wisel or Infinity Monster and destroy it!" Watching intently, he saw Kiryu's shock when the legs on the machine glowed white, launching several beams of energy that struck the four-eyed dragon and destroyed it.

"Then I have no choice but to switch One-Hundred Eye Dragon to Defence Position (DEF: 2500, LV: 8) and end my turn." Saying this, his multi-eyed dragon closed all of its eyes save for the one on its forehead; then, it curled up its arms and turned blue.

"Such a move is a wasted effort!" Placido insisted, reaching for his Deck. "I draw (12 SPC), and I absorb One-Hundred Eye Dragon as well (ATK: 6500)!" In a split second the tentacles returned, attaching to and assimilating the black dragon into a purple aura around the monster's arm. "Now go, Wisel! Destroy Bogart Knight!"

"We'll see about that!" Yusuriha yelled, not intending to end up like Jack. "Trap Card: Magic Cylinder! Prepare to receive your own attack points as damage!" However, before her card even started to work, two red laser beams from the face of the machine monster struck it and smashed it, leaving Yusuriha to wonder what had happened.

"Have you forgotten that Wisel Top 3 can negate Magic or Trap Cards?" Placido questioned, watching slyly as his robot's arm crashed into the brown-skinned monster before Yusuriha and explode it, deactivating her D-Wheel and making it spin out as well.

"Yusuriha!" Kiryu yelled out, smashing his fist into his console for being unable to stop the madman behind him. "I'll make you pay for this!"

"There's nothing you can do!" Placido jeered. "I release One-Hundred Eye Dragon (ATK: 3500)! Direct attack!" In a quick second Kiryu learned himself the true pain as the bladed arm shot into his body; he could feel the internal shock. "And now, I give up 4 Speed Counters and reveal Speed Spell – Final Attack!"

Without so much as time to respond, Kiryu's D-Wheel was shocked and then forced to fall onto his side, leaving all three people to have fallen onto their paths while Placido shot off into the distance, his Machine Emperor still in play.

A few seconds later, Placido felt himself slip into a tranquil state, so that he could communicate with his deity. Sure enough, in a few seconds, his body appeared inside the white misty void, in cloaked form, while the God-Machine appeared before him.

"Master," he declared, getting down onto one knee. "It won't be long now. In a few hours the Circuit will be complete, and my plan will bring you into this world. And then, we can begin our reformation." Interestingly, to speak to this God, Placido used 'ware' instead of 'ore' to refer to himself ('waga' for his possessive pronoun) and 'nanji' instead of 'anata' or 'omae' for the Deity, contrasting his usual pronouns.

"_Very good,"_ the Deity's voice spoke from around him, making Placido smile confidently as he rose back to his feet. _"You have done well, my servant; and though this road we have traveled is long and winding, it seems effective."_

"Two roads converged in a forest," Placido paraphrased, "and I took the one less traveled upon. Those in the past who have tried to change the way things occur in this world; they have neither the power nor the connections to take it so. Yliaster, the organisation you created, has made that possible."

"_And so it has done an excellent job of keeping the wicked ones at bay," _the God agreed._ "But even now, they are ravaging the human world, something that I will not tolerate."_

"That is why we need to call you into our world," Placido asserted. "We are stronger than the wicked ones, but we are far too few overall to stop them. Even if he Signers were not in our way, this would be a most difficult battle."

"_Then maybe we can use them on our own side. The boy known as Fudo Yusei has received a portion of my power through that Dragon."_ Upon hearing this, Placido recalled seeing the beast and realizing that he had been right; then, the God added; _"if he can be persuaded to join our ranks, we may stand a fighting chance."_

"Using the WRGP was just supposed to draw in the wicked ones; but it seems it brought us far more than that," Placido sneered, realizing the true purpose of this venture as he spoke of it. "You knew this would occur; that one way or another, the Signers, the Summoners and the Darkness of Justice would play into your revival."

"_Provided Paradox does not completely interfere with the Circuit's completion, then all shall go according to plan."_

"At best Paradox can delay the completion," Placido reassured the God. "Decalibrating the Old Momentum means when it overloads, it will explode and disappear for good. Paradox will be trapped; and then the energy we have collected can go towards completing an even greater circuit."

"_Excellent..."_ The God spoke, the machine being consumed in the red energy aura. This the changed into a chiselled-looking upper body, glowing yellow eyes and a glowing trio of orbs on its chest; green, blue and orange. A second later, Placido simply snapped back to reality; then, he pulled from his pocket 3 Ritual Monsters; 2 were Level 10, the last 12. _"Not long now... soon, you will descend upon this world, the greatest and lost Aeon."_

**Card of the Week – Paradox**

**Sin Paradox Dragon**

**Type:** DARK

**Level:** 10

**Family:** [Dragon/Synchro/Effect]

**Effect:** "Sin Parallel Gear" + 1 or more non-Tuner "Sin" Monsters

**CHAPTER:** When this card is Successfully Synchro Summoned, activate by selecting 1 excluded Dragon-Type Synchro Monster. Special Summon that monster. It cannot attack and its effect(s) is negated. Until the End Phase, all monsters your opponent controls lose ATK equal to the ATK of the summoned monster.

**ANIME:** When this card is Successfully Synchro Summoned, activate by selecting 1 Dragon-Type Synchro Monster in your Cemetery. Special Summon that monster. 1 monster your opponent controls also loses ATK equal to the ATK of the summoned monster.

**ATK/** 4000

**DEF/** 4000


	35. Infinity's Last Trump Card

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter 35 – Infinity's Last Trump Card! Machine Emperor Grannel, Aki vs. Jose**

Stepping into the white illuminated throne room, Alessandro moved quietly and with extreme care, passing through the doorway without making any noise but not without alerting Jose to his presence. Noting that the older man was staring upon Lucciano's charging form, Alessandro said nothing but instead stood awaiting some sort of address.

"Where is Placido?" was the question that eventually came from Jose's metal-covered mouth, the large man standing up and turning to face Alessandro. The single golden eye of the giant had a rather impassive look on its face; but Alessandro knew full-well that Jose was likely still angry about his earlier comments.

"He's taken it upon himself to try and complete the Circuit my midnight," Alessandro explained calmly, causing the single visible eye of the larger man to narrow into a more angry-looking expression. "I advised him against it; but he said that it was within completion and that it was worth trying."

"I don't believe that you did try to dissuade him," Jose scorned, his voice sounding sterner than what he had previously said. "Based upon your actions as of late, not only do I know you lie, but that you're more headstrong than Placido is."

"So what if I am?" Alessandro asked defensively, giving Jose a rather angry-looking glare. The response of the older man was to grab Alessandro by the collar with his left hand, raising him up a foot and a half off the ground so their eyes were level. Alessandro had nothing he could say at this time; instead, he just gasped in anger.

"I can see why Placido is so irritated by you," Jose grumbled before tossing Alessandro back into Placido's empty throne effortlessly. "You think simply because we are your allies, you can say and do anything you want and that we'll turn a blind eye. It's a human habit you must overcome if you wish to remain an Emperor of Yliaster; and more so, if you wish to remain alive."

After taking a moment to process these words, Alessandro's face shifted from total frustration to something that more resembled forced compliance; and then, turning to Lucciano, whose body was pulsating in a blue circuit pattern, he asked, "Exactly how long before she's operational?"

"That is a good question," Jose responded, turning back to face the female automaton. "She could take an hour or a year to fully recover. The issue is not simply about time, but energy; the energy used to recover her is the same as that for the Circuit."

"Then perhaps we could use a Signer to collect enough energy for her," Alessandro said impetuously, getting Jose to glare at him again. "If Placido can complete the Circuit on his own, he doesn't need us. We might as well do something productive with our time, and get energy from one or both of the Signers not with the group."

Standing with the angered look still on his face, Jose growled under his breath for a few seconds before finally saying, "That's actually a rather useful idea. If we can use those Signers to our advantage, then there is no reason to simply wait upon the completion of the Circuit and Lucciano's resurrection."

"See? Humans are of some use," Alessandro said sarcastically, getting up from his seat and chuckling before crossing his right arm over his chest. In a split second he had vanished, and Jose proceeded to make the same move while mumbling to himself,

"Now if only they weren't so apt to talk back that way."

In Poppo Time, at the building which the group had been calling a home base, Aki and Johan stood on guard while the two twins were in the rear of the building, asleep. With the clock reaching 10pm, there was very little left for them to do; but the two older members knew that something had to be done.

"This is taking a lot longer than I would have expected," Johan stated to Aki, his arms crossed as they stared out the top floor window. "It's gone from a 3-person reconnaissance mission to a full-on battalion, and we're the only 4 people left at home base now. If they ever decide to get back here, they'll be a lot to discuss."

"I just hope everyone is alright," Aki responded in a more worried tone, turning off to the side and looking rather concerned. "After Judai, Jack and Kyojo didn't come back, everything happening like this is just too strange for me to understand."

"Yusei will be just fine," Johan assure her, putting his hand on her shoulder and giving her a comforting smile. "He's great at holding his own, given where he comes from; and Judai's there as well. He'd sooner die than allow something to happen to his friends."

"Then that Judai punk is long dead, because his friends and being picked off left, right and centre," a male voice issued from behind the two of them. Turning around, they saw the forms of Alessandro and Jose standing there looking at them. Crossing his arms, Alessandro added, "I guess he's not as powerful as you thought."

"Who are you?" Johan questioned, not recognizing Jose from the battle night and having never seen Alessandro before. "And what are you doing here?"

"Ah, we've forgotten to introduce ourselves. How rude of us," Jose stated, Alessandro stepping off to the side. "My name is Jose, and this is my apprentice Alessandro."

"Jose…?" Aki realized, gasping at the man's name. "You're one of the people in league with Placido, aren't you?"

"You didn't gather that from the Infinity motif sweetheart?" Alessandro chastised, sneering at the girl. "If I had known Yusei liked his women ditzy, I could have mocked him for that too."

"Stop being so rude, Alessandro," Jose criticized, making Alessandro return to a serious pose. "The girl is a Signer after all, Miss Izayoi Aki; and as members of Yliaster, we must be respectful of those individuals."

"Ah yes, pardon my lack of manners," Alessandro corrected himself, bowing for the woman before regaining his superior attitude. "As for the original question, 'why are we here?', it's quite simple; we're here for a quick, civil duel. No hostages, no penalties, no strings of any kind; just two duellists."

"I don't believe that for a second!" Johan yelled. "There's no reason to have trespassed this way just for a duel; especially given who you are. So tell me your real motivation for being here." After Johan's little tirade, Alessandro fired a burst from his artificial plasma eye, sending Johan into the wall and then making him collapse onto the floor.

"Stop this!" Aki yelled, raising her hand and creating a shockwave with her powers that sent Alessandro flying into the opposite wall. There, he struck it with such force that he was knocked forwards, making the man sneer hatefully.

"Oh, well aren't you just a violent little bitch?" he asked, stepping forward to where Jose was standing. "But alright; you seem feisty enough for my type. Let's have our duel then, shall we; and then I'll give you something else to be rough about."

"Give it a rest, Alessandro," Jose warned angrily, making Alessandro hiss and actually step back away. "Miss Izayoi, your opponent will be myself; and I can promise you that I will be more respectful than my associate here. So, do we have an agreement?"

"What exactly are the stakes?" Aki questioned, grabbing her Duel Disc and strapping it onto her arm. "Alright, I'll suggest some; if I win, you leave here and never bother us again."

"We don't need stakes for a duel, Miss Izayoi," Jose responded calmly. "We will leave no matter the outcome; and this will be our last visit here."

"No Aki!" Johan yelled, getting to his feet only to be shoved back against the wall. Looking, Aki could see that Alessandro had twisted the pointed figure eight from his back into a chain somehow, one he had used to pin Johan to the wall.

"Stop getting involved in things that don't concern you," the raven warned. "The only duellists we are interested in duelling are real fighters; not washed-up has-beens like yourself. Now stop interrupting or I'll be forced to really hurt you. Do I make myself clear, or do I need to spell it out for you?"

Yanking on the chain, Alessandro pulled Johan all the way across the room, using his free hand to punch Johan in the face and knock him to the ground. The second he did, however, Jose grabbed Alessandro by the scruff and threw him back onto the floor. A second later, Johan got back to his feet and the chain on his converted into blue energy, returning to its place on Alessandro's back.

"I again apologize for my associate's lack of any social grace," Jose told them. "He seems to have deep-rooted anger too strong to quell; a pity really, given how difficult our mission is without in-fighting. Now, without further delay, let us ascend to our duelling platform."

From underneath Jose's bushy right eyebrow then appeared a brilliant orange glow, on which consumed him, Johan, Aki and Alessandro. It quickly took away any surrounding features; and when it faded, they stood on the roof of the building, an orange Infinity loop encircling Jose and Aki as it lit up the area.

A second later, Jose's hood and the cape-like cloak on his body turned to orange energy and eventually dissolved, creating a clearer look at the man under the hood. The top of Jose's head was bald, but he had hair to the sides and a long ponytail at the back down to his waist. The covering on his eye was revealed not as an eyebrow, but as a set of bangs isolated on his forehead; he did not seem to have any real eyebrows. Finally, a single red gem was in the centre of his forehead, glowing like Placido's gem and Alessandro's eye.

As Aki took in the shock of his rather strange appearance, she looked down to the man's chest to see that the part covered by a cloak was a metal plate shaped like an Infinity symbol. Underneath it, the orange irregular pentagonal plate suddenly folded down, two metal arms folding out and to the sides. These then collected all the floating energy photons, collecting them into an energy tray for a Duel Disc.

"It's like Professor Cobra's Duel Disc," Johan realized, watching as a section of Jose's left cuff extended upwards, producing a Deck out of orange energy. As a small wind started to kick up, Jose's beard and everyone's hair began to sway, and finally the man said,

"Come now my dear; let us have a duel worth remembering." _"One that will generate enough energy to restore Lucciano; and if any is left over, then we can boost the Circuit."_ Watching intently, Jose pulled 5 cards from his Deck (which looked miniscule in his basketball-sized hands) as Aki's Deck was shuffled.

"I'll show you the power of a Signer," Aki declared to the older man, giving him a sneer that hinted she had said exactly what he wanted to hear. With that she too pulled 5 cards, and so both players yelled at once,

"DUEL!"

Aki: LP 4000

Jose: LP 4000

"I'll set the lady decide whether or not have the first turn," Jose insisted, suggesting he came from a time when chivalry was actually in effect. In fact, this was true; but he also wanted to see Aki's playing style, allowing him to adapt it accordingly.

He was genuinely surprised when Aki responded, "I don't need you to give me the first turn; you can take it." Slightly taken aback by the hostility of this, Jose was quick to shrug it off.

"Very well, I draw," Jose declared, pulling his sixth card and placing it onto the orange tray on his chest. "I Summon Core Releaser (DEF: 1000, LV: 3)!" Once the card was on the tray, a card appeared horizontally which the metal orb from Placido's duel appeared, its three glowing orbs still there.

"I shall also set 4 cards, and declare the end of my turn." Simply standing there, Jose looked at Aki with a passive glance; but in his mind he was thinking, _"Now, my dear Signer; show me the power you possess."_

"I draw!" Aki shouted, pulling her card and spinning it around instantly. "I Summon Black Rose Witch (ATK: 1700, LV: 4)!" A moment later the form of a doll-like girl with purple hair and purple roses on a black dress appeared, a staff in her hand.

"Since I Normal Summoned this monster with no cards, I draw one card; however, if that card is not a Monster Card, Black Rose Witch and that card are sent to the Cemetery." Pulling the card, she was quick to spin it around before adding, "The card is indeed a Monster, namely Dandelion."

"An impressive combo," Jose complemented. "Thus, you get to keep your monster."

"I also activate Angel's Gift," Aki added, pulling 3 cards in a single motion and taking 2 monsters from her hand to throw into the Cemetery. "Because Dandelion was sent to the Cemetery, I Special Summon 2 Fluff Tokens (DEF: 0, LV: 1) (DEF: 0, LV: 1)!" In a moment two monsters that resembled dandelion seeds appeared on Aki's field, giving her a total of 3 monsters.

"There's more; I activate Dual Summon, and I Normal Summon a second monster. Come on, Debris Dragon (ATK: 1000, LV: 4)!" Aki's latest monster was revealed as the small white and green Dragon both Kyojo and Yusei used; and as it came into view, a card slid from Aki's Cemetery.

"Due to this monster's effect, I Special Summon 1 Monster of 500 ATK or less; come back, Dandelion (ATK: 300, LV: 3)!" As she spoke, her orange, yellow and green cat-plant hybrid appeared. "Now, I Tune my Level 4 Debris Dragon to my Level 3 Dandelion and Level 1 Fluff Token!"

Shooting up into the air, the dragon changed into 4 white orbs that became green rings. The other two monsters then turned into a total of 4 white orbs, which became a column of light. "Fell the serpent among the flowers as it strikes. The pitch-dark flames shall now sear the souls of wickedness. Synchro Summon! Arise, Wild Rose Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!"

When the light faded away, the serpentine flower-like dragon was encircling Aki's field, like a serpent eying its prey. Staring up upon the creature's jaws, Jose gave a light chuckle and said to Aki, "Such a powerful monster in a single turn… but using a Synchro Monster against a Machine Emperor Deck is a foolish move."

"We'll see," Aki responded smoothly. "Especially since I gain 2 more Tokens because of my Dandelion going back to the Cemetery." Just as she had stated, two more of the small objects appeared before her; and then she added; "Now I tune my Level 4 Witch to my 3 Level 1 Fluff Tokens."

Leaping up into the air, the doll-like girl swung her want a couple of times before changing into 4 green rings. When the three smaller creatures rose up into these, their heads became white orbs and the rings disappeared; then, the three orbs fused into another beam of light.

"Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon (ATK: 2400, LV: 7)!" The serpentine dragon was then joined by the smaller, bloom-shaped dragon, its petal wings unfurled and the vines beneath its body blowing in the wind.

"_Now I see why this girl was chosen as a Signer," _Alessandro said to himself, standing behind and off to the side of Jose with his arms crossed._ "Synchro Summoning 2 Monsters like that is impressive enough, but the fact that she used one to attain the other... how interesting..."_

"I activate Black Rose Dragon's Monster Effect," Aki informed Jose, a card sliding from her Cemetery as she spoke. "You see, by excluding the Dandelion in my Cemetery, Core Releaser changed to Attack Position, and its ATK is 0!" Shooting several vines from its underside, the dragon strung up the orb and pulled it from its card, causing its colour to return.

"Battle! I attack Core Releaser with Black Rose Dragon! Black Rose Flare!" With a guttural snarl, the dragon released a burst of purple flames which resembled flower petals from its jaws; these struck and exploded the small machine, the shockwave striking Jose and causing him to grunt.

"Permanent Trap Open: Infinity Spirit Machine!" Jose declared, causing one of the set cards in front of him to reveal itself. The card then vanished as a mechanical purple head with red eyes and grey wires for hair emerged; then, the red aura from Jose's body flowed into its open mouth, where purple numbers that read '24' emerged. "Infinity Spirit Machine keeps 1 Counter for every 100 points of damage I take."

"Too bad that does nothing for you now. I direct attack with Wild Rose Dragon!" Rearing up, a burst of crimson flames came from the mouth of the beast straight towards Jose; however, this time, Jose had a different response.

"I activate Drain Shield," he revealed. "This card will negate your attack, and then add the ATK of your monster to my Life Points." Instantly a green barrier formed around Jose's field, absorbing the impact of the strike and simply causing Jose to glow green for a moment.

Aki: LP 4000

Jose: LP 4600

"Did you think I would allow myself to be done in with a single turn, and with 2 Synchro Monsters no less?" Jose questioned, the three glowing orbs from the exploded machine now floating around his head. "Your stronger monster's power has put me above you."

"Then I set 2 cards and end my turn," Aki said simply. _"This guy put me in a bad spot. I was hoping to win before seeing his Machine Emperor; with 2 Synchro Monsters on my field, I'm wide open."_

"In the End Phase," Jose revealed, "The effect of Core Releaser transfers one monster with 'Core' in its name from my Deck to my hand." Instantly the blue and green floating orbs vanished, leaving the orange one to float around and into his hand, changing into a card. "And now, it's my turn."

"_Prepare to get thoroughly trounced, you little school girl,"_ Alessandro thought, his face twisting into a sneer of confidence. Johan, taking note of this, grew more concerned, and turned to Aki in full anticipation of bad things to come.

"It's my turn," Jose said flatly, drawing his card before taking the one from a moment earlier and placing it into the tray. "I Summon Grand Core (ATK: 0, LV: 1)." Instantly, a large orange egg-like object appeared on Jose's field; and then, he held up yet another card.

"This next card can be Special Summoned during the turn a "Grand Core" Monster is Normal Summoned; I Special Summon Grand Breaker (ATK: 400, LV: 3)." Placing the monster onto the tray, Jose created an orange metal snapping turtle, which let out a hissing before turning to the floating egg.

"When this card is Special Summoned, I destroy 2 cards on the field; and then their controller draws 1 card for each one. I'll destroy Grand Core and Grand Breaker, so I draw 2 cards." Pulling 2 cards from his Deck, Jose watched intently as both of his two monsters exploded; and when the smoke cleared, a floating orange orb was in front of Jose.

"When Grand Core is destroyed by a card effect, It destroys all monsters I control; and in return, from my hand, Deck or Cemetery, I Special Summon Machine Emperor Grannel Infinity (ATK: 0, LV: 1), Grannel Top (ATK: 400, LV: 1), Grannel Attack (ATK: 1400, LV: 1), Grannel Guard (DEF: 1600, LV: 1), and Grannel Carrier (ATK: 800, LV: 1)."

Shooting around behind Jose, the orb of light lodged into the ground and exploded upwards into an orange column of light. Then, up from the light appeared a large orange fish-shaped machine, the Infinity Symbol forming its eyes. Followed by that, a sunfish-like object whose face resembled a cannon barrel, a shark with a flat top to its body, a clam-like object with a massive body, and a seahorse-like object with a single eye.

A moment later, the front plates behind the Infinity symbol of the fish retracted, showing the atomic core inside, and the tail-like object turned around to the left side like a shoulder. The sunfish's tail then retracted and the shark's body unfolded, giving them the looks of arms.

Next, the clam-like object split in two halves and came back together, extending out tank treads on the bottoms of the halves to form mechanical structures; and then a lower torso formed, and the three pieces forming limbs attached in place. Finally, the seahorse folded up its body into a long, corona-shaped lead and neck, attaching atop the monster and lighting up the eye.

"Say hello to Machine Emperor Grannel (ATK: 4600, LV: 1)," Jose instructed, raising his arm to reveal the gigantic machine behind him. Though it was similar in structure to Wisel, it was much larger; in fact, it was easily twice the size of that monster. "And just like the rest of the Machine Emperors, this monster is a Synchro Killer."

"What's going on here?" Johan questioned strongly, referring to the Infinity Monster before him. That thing's attack strength is higher than the parts it's composed of. What gives?" When he received a sarcastic and amused laugh from Alessandro, the blue-haired man turned and violently asked, "What?"

"Such naïveté from such a professional," the dread-locked man told his aggressor. "Grannel doesn't function like your average Machine Emperor. See, its base ATK and DEF aren't determined by the power of its components, but by the controller's Life Points. Ever heard the phrase, 'The whole is greater than the sum of its parts'?"

"You're joking!" When the only response from Alessandro was a dark sneer though, Johan realized that the comment was no joke, but a stone-cold reality. "And that thing hasn't even absorbed anything yet…"

"Prepare to lose one of your two precious Dragons," Jose chided to Aki, watching as an array of 10 squid-like tentacles of orange energy appeared around the Infinity Symbol. Reaching forward, these wrapped around the limbs, torso, neck and jaws of the larger, serpentine dragon and pulled it towards the monster. Once it reached the Infinity Symbol, that object opened up like a beak and quite literally swallowed the monster, closing again afterwards and dissolving the tentacles.

"Due to the effect of my Grannel, it gains all the attack strength of Wild Rose Dragon; in other words, it inherits 3000 more ATK points (ATK: 7600). Now, battle! I attack Black Rose Dragon with Grannel!"

Pointing its left arm's cannon at the smaller dragon, Jose's gigantic machine opened fire with a burst of orange energy straight at said beast. Aki, not wanting to be completely taken for a fool, flipped up a card and declared, "I activate Synchro Back! I return this monster to my Extra Deck, and Synchro Summon it during my next Standby Phase!"

As soon as the blast was near the dragon, its entire form simply disappeared off the field; then, when the blast continued, it struck a barrier that formed around Aki, stopping all damage. "I also activated the Permanent Trap, Direct Border," she informed, "turning all direct attack battle damage to 0."

"Very well my dear," Jose responded calmly. "I choose to end my turn here."

"Draw," Aki stated calmly, pulling her card and watching a windstorm kick up. "I activate the effect of Synchro Back; Black Rose Dragon is Synchro Summoned to my field (ATK: 2400, LV: 7); and due to that effect, all cards on the field are instantly destroyed!"

Just as quickly as it had vanished, the red and black dragon reappeared on the field, several purple rose petals as sharp as blades flying around. One such blade flew and scratched the metal plating on Alessandro's shoulder pads, another Jose's mouth-plate; but before anything further occurred, he flipped a card.

"I activate my Trap Card, Grand G3," he explained, revealing a card from his hand. "By sending Grannel Carrier from my field to my Cemetery, I Special Summon Grannel Guard 3 from my hand (DEF: 1700, LV: 3)." Instantly the right arm of the monster disappeared; and a sea turtle-like object appeared, folding into a shield-bearing arm and fixing in place.

"Due to the effect of Grannel Guard 3," Jose explained, "the effect of a Synchro Monster can be negated once per turn." Red beams of energy from bolts on the shield then strafed the form of the opposing dragon, causing it to cease its action and the storm of petals to stop swirling. "You see, Grannel opposes Synchro Monsters more than any other Machine Emperor (ATK: 7600)."

"Then let's see it counter this!" Aki yelled, pointing to Jose's field. "I activate the effect of Black Rose Dragon; and by excluding Dark Verdure from my Cemetery, I turn Grannel Guard 3 to attack position and remove its power (ATK: 0). Battle!"

Before Jose even had time to react, the dragon fired a burst of energy straight at the arm of the monster; however, he simply looked back with an impassive stare while the port on the chest of his monster opened. To the amazement of both Aki and Johan, the energy-bound form of her serpent dragon emerged, hissing as it was brought into place before Jose's massive monster.

"Grannel Guard 3 has an additional effect left over from its base form," Jose responded to the stunned-looking Aki. "When my opponent declares an attack, I can switch the attack to a Synchro Monster equipped to Grannel. With 3000 attack strength, Black Rose Dragon is outmatched."

"That's what you think," Aki said slyly, reaching into her hand and shocking Jose with her move. Instant Magic: Rose Burst! When a Rose Dragon Synchro Monster battles an opponent's monster, it gains 200 ATK times that monster's level; and Wild Rose Dragon is Level 8, so that's 1600 more ATK (ATK: 4000)!"

"Then I activate Grannel Carrier's effect," Jose responded, noting the tank-like treads on which his monster rested. "Once per turn, I can negate the destruction by battle of a monster by battle. Thus, my servant Wild Rose Dragon survives!" In a burst of energy, the attack of the red dragon impacted its target and created an explosion, making the shackled dragon scream in pain.

Aki: LP 4000

Jose: LP 3600

"Thanks to Infinity Spirit Machine," Jose told Aki as the red aura formed around him, "my damage becomes Spirit Machine Counters (SMC: 34)." The red aura that formed around Jose then flowed into the mouth of the head, where the number changed accordingly; and then the dragon in shackles was pulled back into the Mechanical goliath's body, the plates closing again.

"With your Life Points lower, Grannel loses ATK accordingly (ATK: 6600)," Aki noted, reaching into her hand. "I set 3 cards and end my turn." With the cards from her hand now on the tray, Aki looked back up at the massive machine, the pupils of her cold eyes contracting into cat-like slits.

"What an interesting attack," Jose pondered, watching Aki's eyes. "I had not expected outright aggression like that; but I suppose that comes with Psychic Duellists. You really were Divine's protégé, and now you're just as wrathful as ever. But no matter how many attacks you make, I will replace the parts of this machine."

"I see that," Aki responded in frustration, "but I'm not done. I activate Magic Planter, and I send Direct Border to the Cemetery to draw 2 cards." Once the card had faded from the field, Aki drew her two cards, and instantly jammed them into slots on her Duel Disc. "I set these and end my turn."

"Taking a defensive approach I see," Jose then added. "That's very unlike an Arcadia Movement foot soldier like yourself; but I suppose that's no surprise. Without Divine to guide you, you've lost all your nerve."

"Don't pretend to know the first damn thing about me," Aki snapped at him, her eyes showing her anger. "I put my past behind me long ago; I won't be an Arcadia Movement member, because I'm a Signer. Don't ever think otherwise!"

"My dear, I've duelled more than my fair share of Arcadia Movement members," Alessandro piped up, "and not a single one of them could ever stick to that story. That brainwashing bastard Divine has people like you so wound around his fingers that they can't think for themselves. I'm surprised he never had you all commit suicide for him."

"Divine was a madman," Aki issued to him, her fist shaking at her side while the black-haired man simply sneered back. "I see that now; all he ever did was use me to his own twisted ends. There's no reason for me to still be loyal to him."

"That's not a denial my dear; it's just a statement of fact. You still feel for that maniac; how pathetic." Giving Alessandro an enraged hiss, Aki then turned back to look at Jose, who was reaching for his Deck.

"It's my turn," he issued. "And I activates Grand A3. By sending Grannel Attack to the Cemetery, I summon Grannel Attack 3 from my hand (ATK: 1800, LV: 3)." Placing the card vertically on the tray, he changed his angelfish-like left arm into a large piranha-like fish, whose body folded out into a new left arm with a large cannon protruding from its massive maw.

"I'm not finished with my Trap card either, my dear." Watching Aki and Johan both glare nervously, he motioned to his card and declared, "I activate Infinity Spirit Machine's effect; when my Life Points are below my opponent's, I destroy it and regain 100 Life Points for every Counter on it!"

"Every single counter?" Johan questioned incredulously, watching as the effect's animation unfolded. In a burst of green energy, the large purple head exploded and the energy flowed into Jose's body, increasing his Life Points drastically. _"That's ever single lost Life Pointe he got back… Shit, Aki's in for some hell now…"_

Aki: LP 4000

Jose: LP 7000

"And since El Jefe's Life Points increased," Alessandro noted, indicating the massive machine monster, "that means his monster likewise increases its power (ATK: 10000). Well, what will you do now, Arcadia whore? Because I highly recommend pissing your skirtss and praying your fucking heart out to your impotent God!"

"There's no end to this monster's strength," Jose explained, clenching his fist in front of his head as he watched Aki glare nervously at his monster. "Machine Emperor Grannel will simply grow stronger and stronger, gaining strength unto Infinity. Watch now as I claim the second of your Synchro Monsters with Grannel."

Watching the Infinity sign of Jose's monster light up, Johan stared with a worried glance while he saw the ten tentacles shoot forwards. _"If she can't stop this effect from working, his monster will be stronger than she could ever take down…"_

"Trap Card Open!" Aki reacted, showing off one of her two set cards. "I activate Buster Mode, and I change Black Rose Dragon into Black Rose Dragon/Buster (DEF: 2300, LV: 9)!" Kicking up another storm of petals around itself, the dragon's wings, torso and legs gained armour which resembled black flowers; then, it let out a roar and the storm intensified, shredding the tentacles.

"When this monster is Special Summoned," Aki revealed, "it can destroy all cards on the field and in both player's hands. Even if I'll be down to square one, I'll drag you with me!" However, before this occurred, the legs of the machine let out a burst of energy that struck this new monster, causing its storm to completely fail. "What?"

"Sorry, but I've activated Grand C3," Jose told her, the storm dying down around them. "By discarding Grannel Carrier, I Special Summoned Grannel Carrier 3 (ATK: 1200, LV: 3)." Looking at the legs of the monster, she saw they were now a slightly larger, taller pair with folded-up crab legs along its edges. "And once per turn, this card can negate an effect which would destroy cards I control, as well as one destruction by battle."

"Then, I…" Aki stammered, looking down at her own cards while Jose simply glared back at her, a cunning look in the eyes of his otherwise stoic face. "I… I can't stop this attack."

"You may as well have no monsters on your field at all," Jose passively reflected. "A single attack now by my Machine Emperor will bring you to your knees and win me this duel; and that is exactly what I intend to do. Machine Emperor Grannel, destroy that miserable monster!" Raising its left arm, the monster fired an orange burst of energy from the cannon that struck the dragon, exploding its armour.

"The effect of Black Rose/Buster allows me to revive its base form when destroyed (ATK: 2400, LV: 7)!" Aki snapped, pointing to her monster. "And since your monster has used its effect, my Dragon is safe from your monster."

"That's not entirely true," Jose noted, watching his monster's chest plates open again and release the shackled dragon, snarling as it did so. "The effect of Grannel Attack 3 is far worse. Thanks to it, my absorbed Synchro Monsters can attack as Normal Monsters, meaning the 3000 attack strength of your dragon will bring you down!"

"Not so fast!" Aki shouted, activating her set card and making Jose looked back with a somewhat stunned look. "I activate Rose Blizzard. This card is activated wqhen my opponent declares an attack." Reaching for her Deck and snapping up a card, she added, "Next, I change the attacking monster to Defence Position and draw 1 card."

"Then I have no choice but to set 2 cards and end my turn," Jose grumbled, certainly disappointed at the inability to draw what he needed at such a critical time. _"That Trap Card allow her a turns to draw exactly what she needs to win this game; and knowing her prowess as a Signer, that is very likely."_

"I draw," Aki issued, snapping up her card before spinning it around onto her Duel Disc. "I activate Treasures of Heaven, and let us both draw 6 cards from our Decks." Once she had placed that card in the Cemetery, she and drew the cards from her Deck one by one; and when she looked at her hand, her Dragon Mark lit up and she smirked, showing Jose that his thoughts had been accurate.

"I Special Summon Rose Sprite (DEF: 1200, LV: 3) since I drew it by an effect!" Instantly, a naked pink hairy-like monster with a rose for hair appeared in a crouching position, while Aki also showed off a set card. "I also use Level Retuner, allowing me to reduce my monster's Level by 2 (LV: 1)."

"Alright," Johan smirked, raising his fist confidently. "Now her monster is exactly the level she needs it to be for her monster's Synchro Summon."

"Next, I Summon Salvation Dragon – Saviour Dragon (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" In a flash of golden light, Aki shocked Alessandro and Jose by calling up the small red teardrop-shaped dragon with bladed wings; and as she did, she raised her cards to the air and added, "Now I Tune my Level 1 Saviour Dragon to my Level 7 Black Rose Dragon and my now Level 1 Rose Sprite!"

Rising into the air, the red dragon became massive and transparent, the smaller dragon and the fairy rising into its body. They then became 7 and 1 white orbs and entered a green ring, where they became a column of light and the dragon's body became red light. "Synchro Summon! Saviour Rose Dragon (ATK: 3700, LV: 9)!" In a massive show of force, the four-winged flower-like dragon Aki controlled descended from the light, larger than the orange monster and wrapping its wings around the field.

"I activate Saviour Rose Dragon's effect," Aki then added, "and with it I negate the effect of Grannel Guard 3!" As she expected, however, the shield then shot beams of power to her monster and stopped its effect cold, before it could even start. "And of course, the effect fails; but now you can't stop my other effect. Battle!"

"I activate Grannel Carrier 3's effect," Jose declared, "and negate the destruction by Battle!" Watching the attack strike the shield arm, he watched intently as the power of the burst simply deflected; however, he was shocked to see a new card appear on Aki's field, one which caused him to glare angrily.

"I activate Saviour Fortune," she declared, reching for her Deck and picking up 3 cards. Turning one around, she then added it to the tray as such and placed the other two face-down. "I activate Saviour Force, and prevent Saviour Rose returning to the Extra Deck." Forming a red aura around her dragon, Aki also let her two set cards materialized before she sneered and uttered, "I end my turn."

"I draw," Jose started, looking at his draw and then sneering. "I activate the effect of Grannel, and absorb your Wild Rose Dragon." Once again, his monster opened its chest and released the orange tentacles; but the dragon before Aki then curled up and folded its wings around itself, dodging the tentacles.

"I've activated Rose Blind," Aki informed. "By changing my monster to Defence Position (DEF: 2800), I negate the effects of any cards that target it for this turn." Placing her now expended card into her Cemetery, she looked at her now-blue dragon and the opposing monster, seeing exactly what she had done.

Jose then turned his attention to his new hand before holding up yet another card. "This next monster is Summoned by releasing Grannel Attack 3. Come, Grannel Attack 5 (ATK: 2100, LV: 5)." Once the old arm had disappeared, Jose's machine was joined by a hammerhead-like object; this one changed into a larger, more powerful-looking cannon with the anchor-like head as a projectile, giving the cannon a rather strong-looking appearance; and so it attached to the monster for a larger left arm.

"Next, I send Grannel carrier and Guard 3 to the Cemetery to summon Grannel Guard 5 DEF: 2500, LV: 5) and Grannel Carrier 5 (ATK: 1900, LV: 5)!" The legs and right arm of the monster then disappeared; and a manta ray formed, creating a large shielded right arm, followed by a a whale-like object which became two pontoon-like legs.

"Battle I destroy Saviour Rose Dragon!" Pointing its cannon, the monster fired a single burst of energy into the dragon's chest, exploding it. But then, the tentacles from the earlier effect, still deployed, reached into the smoke and pulled out the dragon, pulling it into the chest and closing again.

"Oh, did we forget to mention?" Alessandro questioned, looking at both protagonists. "The Grannel Attack series can allow Machine Emperors to absorb Synchro Monsters that have been destroyed by battle (ATK: 13700)."

"Then… I activate Saviour Force's effect!"Aki declared, pulling a card from her Cemetery. "I revive Black Rose Dragon (DEF: 1800, LV: 7)!" With the red dragon now before her again, Aki was quickly becoming a mess; the stress of the duel was taking its toll, and hard.

"Now, your god-like servant will become my tool of destruction!" Jose yelled, watching as the orange tubules reappeared and released the four-winged dragon. As soon as it had appeared, however, it exploded from the tubules; and the serpent dragon then emerged from the body of the monster, also exploding and causing Jose damage/

Aki: LP 4000

Jose: LP 6000

"I've activated Armour Burn," Aki revealed. "Now, all equip cards on the field are destroyed, and their controllers take 500 damage for each one, weakening your monster (ATK: 6000)."

"Clever, yet hopeless," Jose revealed. "I activate Infinity Monocycle! Now, I get to re-equip all lost Synchro Monsters to Grannel; and in addition, I inflict 600 damage to my opponent for each monster I equipped this turn, and recover 600 Life Points!" In the tentacles the shattered forms of the dragons then returned (ATK: 13300), while red energy drained Aki and Jose recovered points.

Aki: LP 2200

Jose: LP 6600

"I set two cards and end my turn. Now, what will you do, Signer?"

"Draw!" Aki yelled, not at all pleased with her options. In a defeated tone, she stated, "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"Bad hand?" Jose questioned, drawing his card. "It could not have come at a worse time; I activate Grannel Guard 5's effect, and in my Standby Phase I recover Life equal to the ATK of one equipped Synchro Monster. I choose Saviour Rose Dragon." Instantly, a shower of green sparkles appeared from the chest of the machine, flowing into Jose as he recovered.

Aki: LP 2200

Jose: LP 10300

"Next, I activate Grand T3, and change Grannel Top to Top 3 (ATK: 1100, LV: 3)." The head of the monster then vanished, changing into a blade-covered version of itself that then formed a new, spikier head. "And next, I change this monster out for Grannel Top 5 (ATK: 1700, LV: 5)." With that head disappearing, a swordfish-like monster appeared, forming a large cone-like head with its large eye fixed on Aki.

"I activate Synchro Break," Aki activated, her monster disappearing from before her. "Now, I inflict damage to my opponent equal to the total Levels of all monsters my opponent controls times 300. You have 21 stars on your field, so that's 6300 damage!"

"I activate Grannel Carrier 5's effect, and negate the damage," Jose revealed, a barrier extending up from his monster's legs and protecting him. "Next, I Release Grannel Attack 5 for Grannel Attack 7 (ATK: 2700, LV: 7)." Dissolving off the gigantic machine, the left arm was quickly replaced by a large crocodile-like machine, whose jaws formed a massive cannon on a still more powerful left arm for the monster.

"Once per turn, by skipping my Battle Phase, I inflict damage to my opponent equal to the power of a Monster I control equipped to a Machine Emperor." Opening up its chest, the monster released the form of the four-winged dragon, which then opened its jaws and began to send it to the crocodile arm.

Watching intently, Aki saw the blast of energy form in the jaws of the crocodile-like cannon; then, as the power came to fruition, the shot came straight at Aki in the form of a full-on blast. The second it neared her, however, Aki revealed her last card. "I activate Nature's Reflection! During this turn, all opposing effect damage returns to my opponent's Life Points; so prepare to receive your own monster's fury."

With this declaration done, an ivy-covered wall sprouted up in front of Aki's side of the field, obstructing her from Jose's view. When the burst struck this monolith, it reflected at an angle such that it went straight at Jose. Just like Aki, though, Jose was ready to counter with a face-down card.

"I activate my Trap Card, Infinity Wave! When an Infinity Monster is on my field, I negate the activation of a Trap Card and exclude it!" Shocking both Johan and Aki with this move, as well as amusing Alessandro, Jose added, "Since this card negates your Trap Card dead in its tracks, the damage will simply return to you as normal."

Watching with a smirk; the burst of energy arced upwards, bypassing Jose as it did so and curving around into a full circular shape. Before Aki could register the move, she saw the energy blast dodge the wall and come crashing down upon her, smashing her into the ground and simply rendering her unconscious.

Aki: LP 0

Jose: LP 10300

"This duel was decided before it even began," Alessandro reviewed, watching as the gigantic machine monster disappeared from view and Jose's form converted itself back to normal. "It would appear as though the Signer was simply not up to the task of facing a monster as powerful as Grannel; and with that, our mission is completed."

"The hell it is!" Johan yelled at the man, causing his smirk to fade into a look of annoyance as he turned to stare at his accuser. "I'm not letting you simply leave here after you harmed my friend that way!"

"Like you could stop us," Alessandro told him harshly, generating a shockwave from his plasma eye that shot Johan back a large distance. In less than a second Johan found himself over the two-story ledge of the building, hanging by a single arm for dear life.

"We have what we came for," Jose informed Alessandro, showing his arm to be glowing orange in a circuit board pattern. "There is nothing more to be gained here; now pick up that man and we'll get going."

"Very well," Alessandro responded, stepping over to the ledge where Johan was hanging on. Reaching down, Alessandro grabbed the man by the throat and hoisted him up above his own head, saying to him, "If you ever speak to me that way again, you'll be far worse off; so I suggest you watch your tongue to me."

Without so much as a huff to a look, Alessandro tossed Johan back over his own shoulder, as thoughtlessly as if he were disposing of some piece of trash. Johan landed with a thud right beside Aki, leaving both people on the roof at their own peril; and then Alessandro turned to Jose, stating, "I think that about takes care of everything."

In the blink of an eye, both members of Infinity simply dissolved into nothingness, leaving behind no proof of their presence other than the memories in the heads of their two witnesses. Johan, shaky but still conscious, waited until they were completely gone and then to his feet, checking Aki for any signs of life. When he found her to be out cold, but stable, he breathed a sigh of relief; but then, turning to the closing skies, he gave a stern look.

Stepping back into the room of Public Security's Headquarters, Jose and Alessandro strode over to where Lucciano's body laid; the wires that were connected to her glowed red. "There is no need for those anymore," Jose told Alessandro, who stepped out ahead of him. Knowing the job at hand, he gripped tightly all the various cables and removed them with one pull, leaving Lucciano separated from the power supply.

Stepping aside, Alessandro then allowed Jose to step up to the android, his left arm extended. Placing it upon her body, he watched as all the energy from the arm flowed fluidly into the body of the machine; and when it did so, it turned light blue and shone before settling back into the body.

Waiting for all of a few seconds, the two men were quite pleased to see that a few moments later, the eyes of the mechanical female opened up, glancing upwards to view the two standing before her. Though she was slumped against the floor in a sitting position, she made no note of her vantage point; instead, she simply looked to the men's' faces and smiled.

"I see you managed to put me back together," she then discovered, hoisting herself up onto her feet. At only 5'6" tall, she was an entire foot shorter than Alessandro and even less than Jose; so she continued to look up at them, that action mandated by close proximity. "How close is the Circuit to completion?"

"We've managed to collect a significant amount of energy through a series of rigorous duels," Alessandro informed her. "The Signers and company have given us a near-complete Circuit in days. Very soon, God himself will soon be upon this Earth."

"But before that can happen," Jose reminded them both, "Placido has to collect the last material he needs; and he can only do that by duelling Yuki Judai and Fudo Yusei."

"That's in a mere two hours," Alessandro retorted. "There's nothing more the three of us can do until then; so allow us to watch as Placido brings God into this world."

"Then I see having a human in our midst was indeed a wise choice," Lucciano inferred, her and the two men stepping over to the thrones and taking seats. Now that Lucciano had returned, Alessandro simply stepped around to Placido's seat; and once the three were in their circle, the screen below them turned on to reveal what was currently occurring.

**Card of the Week – Jose**

**Grannel Attack 7**

**Type:** EARTH

**Level:** 7

**Family:** [Machine/Effect]

**Effect:** This card cannot be Normal Summoned or set. This card cannot be Special Summoned other than by Releasing 1 "Grannel Attack 5" you control. Destroy this card if you do not control an "Infinity" Monster. When a Synchro Monster is destroyed by battle, you can equip it to an "Infinity" monster you control. Once per turn, you can declare an attack with a Synchro Monster equipped to an "Infinity" Monster you control, as though it were a monster. Once per turn, by skipping your Battle Phase, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the ATK of a Synchro Monster equipped to an "Infinity" Monster you control.

**ATK/** 2700

**DEF/** 0


	36. Gambit of the Aeons

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 36 – Gambit of the Aeons; the Truth of Infinity Revealed**

Walking along the highway in the direction of town, Taiyou found himself supporting the semi-conscious Kyojo's weight on his shoulders. In the aftermath of the duel with Paradox, his D-Wheel was smashed beyond completion; so now, their only way to meet back with the others was to walk there.

"I'm sorry… to put you through this, pal…" Kyojo grunted out to Taiyou, referring to the fact that Kyojo being alive prevented them from simply teleporting to where the others were. "I got… ahead of myself… and it cost me…"

"You were trying to be a good friend," Taiyou told him. "Nobody could fault you for that." Growing concerned, Taiyou could hear the sound of a D-Wheel in the distance, getting closer; and a second later, he turned around to see two D-Wheels shoot by him.

Then, to both Summoners' surprise, they watched as the 2 vehicles that had just passed them screech to a stop ahead of them, turning off to the right as they did. As soon as they were stopped, the two riders jumped off and pulled off their helmets, revealing Judai and Crow; and they ran towards those two, showing their concern.

"Kyojo, what happened to your D-Wheel?" Judai asked, his stern glare being met by Taiyou's concerned look. This instantly told Judai what he needed to hear; thus, his next question was, "Who did this? Was it Placido, or one of his lackeys?"

"It was Paradox," Kyojo told them, his knees waving for a second and causing him to fall away from Taiyou. Before he fell on his face, Judai managed to reach forward and grab the man, using his enhanced strength to hold up the man. "He… blew my ride sky high…"

"That ass-fuck!" Crow yelled, raising his fist in a shaking motion. "Where the fuck did he go? Did you see which fucking way he went?"

"You already lost once against him, Crow," Judai reminded him, causing Crow to just give Judai an angry glare. "There's no point in just rushing into a battle with a madman like him; unless we go in a united strike, we just don't have the power to stop him."

"You know what? Fuck you Judai!" Crow snapped at the red-haired man, shoving him and almost making him drop Kyojo. "Don't give me that fucking teamwork speech after you fucking went and fucking ditched the lot of us just for a fucking shot at fucking Placido! You don't know the first fucking thing about fucking group efforts!"

"Judai's right, Crow," Taiyou told him calmly, getting the man's attention. "Kyojo playing a cowboy and fighting Paradox head-on by himself; that's exactly how he ended up in that state. Judai may not have the best track record of teamwork; but he does know the consequences of fighting by one's self."

"If that were a slightly less snide comment, I'd have backed it," Judai told him in utter annoyance. "Besides Crow; you know full-well that getting to the others takes far higher precedence."

"Others? What happened?" Kyojo questioned as Judai hoisted him over onto his own D-Wheel, allowing the man to view what was going on while still letting Judai stand free. "Did Paradox get to somebody else?"

"After we finished with the Riding Roids, another enemy signal came on the radar," Judai informed him. "Several WRGP contestants then went off the monitor… along with Jack, Yusuriha and Kiryu."

"Say what?" Taiyou asked, taking a step back in complete shock as Crow stepped forwards. The ghostly Summoner now gained a new level of fear and dread in his mind; for three of their friends to completely disappear from the radar could not be a sign in their favour. _"No… it must be a lie…"_

"That's where we were going; we wanted to find the last place where they were, so we could find out what happened," Crow told him, just as Judai reached over and got back onto his own D-Wheel. Then, Crow ran over and onto his, along with Taiyou; and so both of them started up their rides, shooting off back where they were going.

"_Placido… we have to stop this insanity before people die…"_ Taiyou thought, his face growing tenser as the group disappeared into the darkness of the streets. _"You can do all you want to me, for I deserve it from the actions in my past; but for this actions against my friends, I definitely can never forgive you…"_

Underneath the streetlights, Jack had managed to crawl his way over to where Yusuriha and Kiryu had ended up. Looking down at the two of them, Jack's physical pain was dwarfed by a sense of failure. Not for losing the duel; but for allowing his friends to be harmed in this way.

"Such pathetic performance when called to duty…" Jack muttered, cringing at his own physical and psychological agony. His own wounds were nothing compared to those of his friends, he was certain; but he should have done everything to protect them, and in his mind that was inexcusable. "Such is disgraceful from a King…"

"I thought you'd given up on being the King," Kiryu muttered, face-down and just barely managing to lift himself enough to look at Jack. "My left leg is broken, I think… but I'll be okay eventually."

"I don't think any of us will be doing so well for some time…" Yusuriha commented snidely, gasping between sentences due to her sheer pain. "Your legs are shot, and my lumbar spine is shattered again…"

"Again…?" Jack asked, showing real concern as he tried in vain to prop himself up. "You never told us you'd broken your back before. When did it happen?"

"I fell off a balance beam in gymnastics at age 10," she explained. "My doctor told me after that incident… that my back would be fragile after that…"

"If you'd told us that, we wouldn't have let you drive a D-Wheel around that way," Kiryu told her, grabbing his D-Wheel's front end and pulling himself into a standing position using his vehicle as a crutch.

"Exactly…" Jack gasped out, understanding full-well the girl's state of mind. "She wanted to be a part of the fight, to truly make a difference… such a fighting spirit is a mark of a true warrior…"

"To think, I could've been part of the King's Royal Court," Yusuriha sarcastically responded. "Jack, how bad are your legs? Can you ride at all?"

"I don't think they're broken; they're just numb," he explained. "Most likely because of the jarring shock to my own spine; so for right now, I don't think I can."

"What a shame," Kiryu commented. "I can't ride with a broken leg either, not properly focussed or unable to operate the brake; and there's no way Yusu-chan can ride without the ability to move below her waist."

"Then I guess we're stuck here for now," Jack realized. "Being injured like this… it's not something I haven't felt before, but this time it's different. The pain isn't nearly as bad as knowing we can't help Yusei or Judai fight."

"Don't be so sure about that," Judai's voice suddenly yelled out, drawing everyone's attention to the edge where his line had come from. Instantly, Crow and Judai's D-Wheels came jumping over the edge, braking just beside the injured riders. As this happened, Judai, Crow and Taiyou jumped off the bike and stepped out to assess the injuries, leaving Kyojo on the back of Judai's ride.

"Did Paradox do this to you guys as well?" Kyojo asked. "That jackass blew my ride sky-high; and I'm pretty sure he damn near cracked my shins to hell."

"No; this is the work of Placido," Jack told them, Judai helping him to his feet and giving him the stance he needed to actually stand up on his numb legs. "He crashed us one by one. These two are injured far worse than I am; I'll be fine once I regain feeling, but Yusuriha's in bad shape."

"We need to get her the hell out of here," Crow immediately realized, grabbing the female Summoner and hoisting her onto his shoulders. "But we've only got two drivers at the moment, and there's fucking seven of us."

"Hey, what the fuck am I?" Taiyou questioned. "I know how to operate one of these things; what excludes me?"

"The fact that one: you don't own a D-Wheel," Crow counted by opening a single finger from his hand and tapping it. Holding out his second finger off that hand, he added, "and two… you're FUCKING DEAD."

"He's corporeal enough to operate a vehicle Crow," Judai reminded him. "Kiryu, is your ride in good enough shape?"

"Oh yeah, it's still in working order," he told them, hobbling over and getting onto the very back of the ride. Taiyou was then quick to jump in front of him, assuming the driver's position. Then, Judai jumped onto his own ride, Crow stepped onto his ride with Yusuriha behind him; and Jack, apparently already limbering up, managed to shakily walk over to his vehicle and get on.

"Fudo Yusei," the voice of Placido suddenly stated on Yusei's monitor, prompting him to look down. Upon doing so, he saw a small window with Placido's sneering face on it; and the main image showed that his beacon was directly behind him. "Do you dare to truly fight against the power of Yliaster?"

"You bastard," Yusei yelled to him as Placido pulled up behind him. Continuing to stare into the monitor at the sadistic being, his eyes narrowed and he hissed out, "Don't think I don't know what you've been doing; Judai told me about the others."

"Necessary sacrifices for the common good," Placido told him nonchalantly. "The completion of the Circuit is the only way to save this world from the wicked ones; and those who oppose the will of God, and who oppose completing the Circuit, must be removed from that path."

"Completing the Circuit is worth causing so much pain and destruction?" Yusei asked in disbelief. "What kind of twisted maniac are you that this seems a good idea to you? What exactly will be accomplished by the completing of this Circuit?"

"You see, human," Placido told him, "completing the Circuit is something that will change the fate of this world for the better; but rather than go into detail now, before our match with Judai, I'll leave it at that and be on my way."

"The hell you will!" Yusei yelled. "Battle Royal Mode goes two ways Placido; I issue a challenge to a duel!" Reaching to his Wrist Dealer, Yusei pulled a fresh hand of 5 cards and threw it into the slot for the hand tray, giving him a fresh hand of cards."If you won't tell me, I'll beat it out of you by force."

"How disappointing," Placido sighed, pulling in slightly behind Yusei. "I had hoped to have fun with the two of you; but I suppose I'll just have to tell Judai you died a hero, fighting for that which you believed in." After saying this, Placido also pulled himself a fresh hand of card; and so both players yelled,

"Riding Duel! Acceleration!"

Yusei: LP 4000

Placido: LP 4000

"I'll take the first turn and show you why I am superior, human," Placido stated, drawing his card and throwing it onto the tray instantly. "I Summon Core Releaser (DEF: 1000, LV: 3)." Once again, the form of the round machine with 3 glowing orbs on its form appeared before Placido, giving him a significant advantage in his strategy as Yusei well knew.

"I also set these three cards and end my turn," he added, three cards appearing before him – one to his left, one to his right and one right in front – before they all disappeared and left only the machine. "You defeated the Ghost that used a trial run of my Deck; but learning what I did, I adjusted the strategy to use your own moves against you. You'll see; soon you'll grovel at the feet of Yliaster, and of God!"

"We'll see," Yusei responded, reaching for his Deck and snatching up his card. "It's my turn (Yusei: 1 SPC/Placido: 1 SPC), and I summon Shield Warrior in Defence Position (DEF: 1600, LV: 3)." With the card onto his tray, Yusei created his blue shield and pike-bearing warrior in a crouching position. "I also set two cards and end my turn."

"Taking the defensive approach to avoid the effect of my monster, is it?" Placido questioned, sneering. "It will do you no good. I activate my Trap Card: Bomb Blast! Thanks to this card, I destroy Core Releaser which did not battle this turn, and damage you for its level times 400. In other words, take 1200 points of damage!"

"Say what?" Yusei questioned, turning just in time to watch it unfold. In an instant the monster in front of Placido, the shockwave striking Yusei's D-Wheel and ripping through his body. He could feel the intense shock, so much so that he swayed from side to side before finally getting a solid footing.

Yusei: LP 2800

Placido: LP 4000

"Next, due to the effect of Core Releaser," Placido explained, holding his hand as though to receive a card. "Do not forget the effect of Core Releaser; I add Wise Core from my Deck to my hand." Instantly a green energy beam shot out from the smoke, forming in Placido's open hand into the form of the card before it went into his tray.

"Behold how far below me you truly are," he then added. "It's my turn now (Yusei: 2 SPC/Placido: 2 SPC). I summon Wise Core (DEF: 0, LV: 1)." Placing his new card onto his console, Placido revealed his mechanical white egg-like object to Yusei, its body opening to reveal the green orb. "I end my turn."

"_He's toying with me,"_ Yusei realized. _"He's like a cat playing with a mouse... like he can finish me whenever he wants. I have to tread carefully."_ "I draw (Yusei: 3 SPC/Placido: 3 SPC)." Taking a quick second to look down upon his card, Yusei realized that he had a game plan; however, he knew it had to be played carefully.

"I Send Bolt Hedgehog from my hand to the Cemetery and Special Summon Quick Synchron (ATK: 700, LV: 5)." Taking his card from his hand and throwing it away, Yusei immediately called up his blue cowboy-like machine, its two guns pointed at Placido.

"Next, I Summon Junk Synchron (ATK: 1300, LV: 3)!" Revealing the card from his hand, his next monster, the mechanical podgy warrior, took up a standing position before him as he added, "due to this monster's effect, I Special Summon Bolt Hedgehog from my Cemetery (DEF: 800, LV: 2)."

Next, the blue rodent-like animal appeared before Yusei, the various bolts on its back vibrating as Yusei finally yelled, "I tune my Level 3 Junk Synchron to my Level 2 Bolt Hedgehog and my Level 3 Shield Warrior!" Pulling its start motor, the orange creature roared to life and became 3 green rings. The other two mentioned monsters then jumped up into these, becoming 5 white orbs that formed a vertical column.

"The clustering fighting spirits will invoke the raging wicked god," Yusei chanted, watching as his formation burst into white light. "Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Obliterate, Junk Destroyer (ATK: 2600, LV: 8)!" From the light then exploded the massive 4-armed giant from Yusei's earlier duel, two of its arms gaining orbs of energy.

"When this monster is Synchro Summoned, I can destroy 1 card fort every non-Tuner used. Thus, I destroy your two back row cards!" Growling, the massive monster threw its two orbs of energy at Placido's field; but smiling confidently, Placido simply activated a set card, giving Yusei cause for concern.

"I activate Remote Selection," Placido explained. "Due to this Permanent Trap, every time cards are targeted, the targets become random. Yusei, that means a 66% chance that Wise Core becomes a target. So I ask you, Yusei, are you sure you still wish to use that effect?"

"Go for it!" Yusei yelled, watching as the orbs stopped in midair for a few seconds. Then, he was surprised to see the two orbs shoot straight into the rounded egg-like machine and the face-up card before Placido, creating a massive explosion immediately followed by a burst of green light.

"You know what happens next," Placido declared with confident gusto, the form of his gigantic machine forming in the light behind him. "Machine Emperor Wisel (ATK: 2500, LV: 1), come to me!" When the light died away, Placido's field now held the base form of his gigantic white robot, its single eye glowing as it beheld Yusei's field.

"Maybe, but I'm not done," Yusei shot to him. "Due to the effect of Bolt Hedgehog, because I control a Tuner Monster, I revive it (ATK: 800, LV: 2)!" Instantly the small furry creature returned to the field; and then Yusei yelled, "I tune my Level 5 Quick Synchron to my Level 2 Bolt Hedgehog, treating the former as Junk Synchron!"

Rising up into the air, the caped blue machine fired its gun suddenly, causing it to become 5 white orbs, which changed into green rings. The smaller creature then rose up into these as 2 white orbs, forming another light column. "The clustering forces will become a silver arrow and split the air. Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Shoot onwards, Junk Archer (ATK: 2300, LV: 7)!"

Appearing right in front of the other monster, the slim orange form of the mechanical archer appeared, pointing its bow straight at the opposing machine. "Your Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity is the core of the monster. If I remove it from the field, its other pieces self-destruct. Therefore, using Junk Archer's effect, I exclude Wisel forth this turn! Dimension Shoot!"

"Counter Trap!" Placido yelled, showing off his last set card as the monster in front of Yusei fired its arrow. "You're acting too quickly Yusei. I activate Wise Force! I negate the effect of a Synchro Monster, and then equip said monster to Wisel if one is not equipped already (ATK: 4800)!"

Watching in shock, Yusei saw the arrow get blasted by a rush of green energy which struck his monster, causing it to disappear instantly. When he looked again, nothing remained of what had happened other than his previous monster. "Damn it, he read my tactics."

"The kinds of moves you make are effective against other humans," Placido commented. "As a human duellist, you're among the top; but against those who have surpassed humanity, you're nothing but a novice. If you wish to truly fight, I want to see more power. Come now Yusei; show me that trinket handed down to you by God!"

"Then more power you shall see!" Yusei yelled, reaching into his hand. "I set one card and end my turn." _"That was a sloppy move; he must have known I would use Junk Archer, and now I'm exposed! With that many attack points, I have to ride out the storm and bank on a miracle."_

"I draw (Yusei: 4 SPC/Placido: 4 SPC)," Placido yelled, pointing at Yusei's field with the hand that still held his card. "Battle! I attack Junk Destroyer with Wisel! Take this human!"

"Trap Card!" Yusei yelled as the white machine shot towards him. "With Star Shift, I return Junk Destroyer to my Extra Deck, and Synchro Summon a Synchro Monster of a matching Level! Come on, Stardust Dragon (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" As Placido's monster swung, he saw the form of the monster before Yusei split into 8 white orbs, which then floated up and connected into his classic white dragon.

"That move literally accomplished nothing," Placido commented. 'Your monster is still in the firing line." _"Unless, of course, that set card is what I think it is." _His face changing into a look of satisfaction, he immediately thought, _"That's more like it Yusei. Your plan worked… for now. "_

"I activate my Jump Guard Trap Card," Yusei yelled, showing off the guard as his D-Wheel and his dragon shot up high into the air. "Thanks to this effect, in a turn a monster I control leaves the field, monsters cannot be destroyed by battle, and damage is reduced to 0. Plus, I draw one card!"

Reaching for his Deck, Yusei looked upon the card on his field, the ones now in his hand, and Placido's field. _"Wisel can only have one Synchro Monster equipped to itself at once; so as long as Junk Archer is equipped to Wisel, he can't equip Stardust Dragon; but if he removes it, I'm left with nothing."_

"So you successfully dodged my attack," Placido realized. "Perhaps I underestimated you; but it changes nothing." Waiting until Yusei struck the ground again, he grabbed his whole hand and issued, "I set 4 cards and end my turn."

"_I'm not falling for his line again,"_ Yusei reflected, looking at his Deck. _"He must have seen that combo coming; there's no way he didn't if he saw Junk Archer's combo coming. I have to actually do something unexpected."_ "I draw (Yusei: 5 SPC/Placido: 5 SPC)!" Looking down at his card, he quickly played it and issued, "I activate the Speed Spell – Synchro Slip!"

"_What an obvious move," _Placido sneered, reflecting on how Yusei was taking such a measure as that one._ "He's getting desperate if that's the best he can do."_

"By excluding Stardust Dragon until my next Standby Phase, I draw 2 cards!" Instantly his dragon burst out into a cloud of white sparkles, flowing away as Yusei reached for his Deck and snatched up two more cards. Looking down, he saw that his cards were a decent wall; but if he wanted a counterattack, it was a long way off.

"I Summon Tricler (DEF: 300, LV: 3)." Again Yusei called up his 3-wheeled monster, crouching before him and giving him some level of field presence. "I also set 2 cards and end my turn."

"How utterly annoying," Placido responded. "You're boring me Yusei; I wanted a duel, not target practice." Reaching for his Deck, he snapped up his card and yelled, "I draw (Yusei: 6 SPC/Placido: 6 SPC)!" Then, 3 of his set cards flipped up all at once, giving him a move which he enjoyed very much.

"I Activate 3 copies of Reckless Greed as a chain," he revealed. "Due to this, I draw a total of 6 cards; but since these cards activated in a chain, I skip only 2 Draw Phases." Once the cards were up, they all formed a column in front of Placido as he drew 6 cards; then, once they disappeared, the form of a seal reading 'Gouyoku' formed atop his Deck.

"Next, I attack your Tricler with Machine Emperor Wisel!" Shooting forwards, the white machine monster made quick work of slashing its bladed arm through the defending monster, causing this creature to explode instantly.

"I activate the effect of Tricler," Yusei revealed, a card shooting out from his Deck. "Come on, Bicler (DEF: 200, LV: 2)." Yusei was then joined by the 2-wheeled monster from earlier, its folded arms and blue form showing its position as a shield. Instead of being surprised or even annoyed, Placido simply sneered at this realization; and then, yet another card on its field made itself known.

"Even if that's the case," Placido told him, "your monster has no presence before me. I activate Wise Return. With this Permanent Trap, I remove Junk Archer from Wisel (ATK: 2500); and in return, I attack with it again. Destroy Bicler!" Without so much as repositioning, his white monster again slashed its arm downwards, cleaving the new monster in half as well.

"Come: Uncycler (ATK: 100, LV: 1)!" Showing off his next card, Yusei added the red one-wheeled monster to his field, giving him one last monster to protect himself with. "And don't forget; Stardust returns to the field during my Standby Phase." Just after he said this, however, he understood Placido's goal.

"Exactly; but when that happens, your monster will be powerless before the energy of my Wisel." _"Unless, of course, you can pass God's Judgment and use the card he handed down to you; but I see the fear in your eyes. You're uncertain of yourself. You'll never defeat me that way."_

"Trap Card Open!" Yusei declared. "Recharge Damage! I draw 3 cards due to your 2 successful attacks!" Once he had grabbed and pulled all 3 cards and thrown them into his tray, Placido turned his attention to his own massive 7-card hand and grabbed a few pieces.

"I shall set 3 cards and end my turn," he stated, sneering at Yusei. "Come now; in this Standby Phase, your fate is decided."

"Then allow me to present my case," Yusei responded, reaching for his Deck yet again. "I draw (Yusei: 7 SPC/Placido: 7 SPC)." Once he saw the card in his hand, he gave himself a rather stern thought; it seemed the Saviour Monster under his command had not come to his aid this time. Instead, he was being forced to try his new strategy.

"I Summon my Tuner Monster, Boost Warrior (ATK: 300, LV: 1)." Once he had placed the card onto the tray, Yusei called up his human warrior wearing a pair of rocket-like boosters, preparing to use its power. "I now Tune my Level 1 Boost Warrior to my Level 1 Uncycler!"

All of a sudden, the rockets of the human warrior fired, shooting him forwards until it had a leading edge like a comet. This very quickly changed it into a single green ring; and as the one-wheeled monster entered this, it changed itself into a single white orb. Before long, said white orbs became a burst of light.

"The clustering wishes will call upon the horizons of a new level of speed. Become the path its light shine upon! Synchro Summon! The Power of Hope, Synchro Tuner, Formula Synchron (DEF: 1500, LV: 2)!" In the blink of an eye, the form of a small robot whose upper body was composed of a Formula-1 race car, which took up a crouching position and gave Placido a hint of what was to come.

"Ah, I see," he realized, noting the very last line of the summon chant. _"A Synchro Monster that is a Tuner as well. That can only mean one thing here…"_ "Am I about to behold the power of your new monster?"

"First thing's first," Yusei told him. "The effect of Formula Synchron allows me to draw a card once per turn." As soon as he had snatched up this last card, Yusei pressed his foot onto the clutch and shot forward, Placido disappearing behind him as he got farther and farther ahead. _"I don't have much time left… either I use that monster now, or it's all over…"_

"Following in that fool Dark Glass' footsteps," Placido realized instantly and stated under his breath, pressing his own clutch and accelerating to keep pace. As their speed increase, the field around them changed into a crimson field that resembled space, the starts shooting by as Yusei's monsters took up formation.

"I Tune my Level 2 Synchro Tuner, Formula Synchron, to my Level 8 Synchro Monster, Stardust Dragon!" Shooting up into the air, the smaller robot monster changed into a pair of white orbs and shot well ahead of Yusei and his dragon; when they returned, instead of forming green rings, it formed a leading edge of light along the body of the dragon.

"The clustering crystal dreams will open the doorway to a new evolution," Yusei chanted, gripping his throttles harder than he realized. "Become the path its light shines upon! Accel Synchro!" However, to Yusei's surprise, instead of his monsters doing anything further, they simply disengaged and the small robot took back its original form.

Seeing what had just unfolded before him, Placido sneered and the broke out into a laugh, not believing what had just unfolded before him was anything serious. "It seems you were unworthy of God's power. I just hope for your sake that God is not angry for using his power that way."

"_What was that… what happened there…?"_ Yusei questioned, looking down upon his hand to discover it trembling. Then, he finally heard the sound of his heartbeat; rather than a strong rhythm, it sounded ragged and shallow; as though his very form trembled with fear.

"_Am I… am I really that afraid? But how… how can that be…? I faced the Machine Emperor head-on and won before; so why now do I shudder in fear?"_ Then, gathering a thought into his mind, it finally occurred to him, _"It's Placido… after seeing him destroy Dark Glass that way, do I now tremble in fear to face him…?"_

"Are you going to finish your turn any time soon Yusei?" Placido questioned, taking his hand off the throttles to cross his arms. "Because unless you are, you and I are going to miss our appointment with Judai; and I hate to be one to go back on my word."

"I'll finish my turn," Yusei told him, pointing at his opposition's monster. "I attack Wisel Guard with Stardust Dragon! Shooting Sonic! And next, I activate Strike Slash, and give Stardust 700 extra ATK (ATK: 3200) as it pierces through your defences!"

Rearing back its head, Yusei's monster blasted a stream of energy straight form its jaws towards the opposing white metal monster. One second later, the right arm put itself in the path of the blast, only for the blast to go through the arm and go straight for Placido.

"Trap Card Open!" he then yelled, showing off a set card. "Wise Teleport halves my Battle Damage from an attack on a Wisel Monster, and adds a monster whose ATK is les than the damage to my hand." As he said this, a card materialized into his hand before the blast continued, striking Placido directly.

Yusei: LP 2800

Placido: LP 3000

Looking up to Yusei, Placido's blasted face revealed its entire right side to be shredded as though it has been struck with an angle grinder; the false flesh was gone, revealing metal components underneath. "You'll pay for that," Placido told Yusei threateningly, a red circuit board pattern forming around his mechanical eye and his voice changing to be slightly more mechanical-sounding.

"Then send me the bill now; because I have plenty more where that came from!" Yusei yelled, hoping that such trash talk and a strong offensive would allow Yusei to overcome his nervousness. "I set 2 cards and end my turn." _"My heart beat is already getting close to normal… If I can keep this up, I'll Accel Synchro soon…"_

"Then I must skip my Draw Phase due to Reckless Greed (Yusei: 8 SPC/Placido: 8 SPC)," Placido told him, pointing to Yusei's monster. "But still, you will not defeat me so easily! I activate Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity's Monster Effect, and absorb Stardust Dragon!" As with before, the machine monster shot out green energy tentacles, wrapping them around the dragon's form before Yusei activated a Trap Card.

"Not so fast! I activate Buster Mode! Take flight, Stardust Dragon/Buster (ATK: 3000, LV: 10)!" Once the trap card appeared, the form of the blue armour appeared over the dragon before Yusei, causing it to snap through all of the green tentacles and roar at Placido strongly.

"Then let's see you counter this!" Placido yelled holding up 3 cards from his hand. "With Speed World 2's effect, I remove 4 Speed Counters (Yusei: 8 SPC/Placido: 4 SPC), and since I hold 3 Speed Spells, you take 2400 damage!"

"Let's just see about that!" Yusei yelled. "By releasing Stardust/Buster, I negate that effect!" Roaring, the dragon's body dissolved into blue energy and filled Placido's console, stopping anything from happening.

"Very well," Placido sneered, "but you can't stop that twice. I activate Speed World 2's effect again (Yusei: 8 SPC/Placido: 0 SPC)!" Still revealing all of the cards Yusei felt a sudden burst of energy from his console which caused him to swerve, before his Life Points went within the red zone.

Yusei: LP 400

Placido: LP 3000

"Next, I activate my Trap Card!" Placido yelled, showing off his set card. "With Wise Reborn, I equip 1 Synchro Monster which was sent to the Graveyard by an effect this turn to Wisel Infinity! Return to my side, Stardust Dragon (ATK: 5000)!" Watching in terror, Yusei saw Placido's monster drag up his dragon from the Cemetery with its power, fusing it into its body.

"Next, I Summon Wisel Guard 3 (DEF: 2000, LV: 3); and I chain Wise A3, sending Wisel Attack to the Cemetery to call out Wisel Attack 3 (ATK: 1600, LV: 3)!" As the left arm of the machine disappeared, the rounded right arm with the six-lobed shield and the three-bladed left arm appeared on either side of its body, giving the monster a full look again (ATK: 5400).

"_Wisel Attack 3 has given that monster Piercing effects," _Yusei realized, looking back nervously._ "I thought eliminating Stardust would save me; but he played me, and now I'm stuck. What will I do?"_

"Behold, the final move Yusei!" Placido yelled. "Wisel, smash that monster to bits!" Shooting forward, the monster slashed its left arm straight at the monster that Yusei had; however, Yusei, regaining his composure, showed off his set card.

"I don't think so!" he yelled. "I activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" Instantly, the metal-bodied scrap collection appeared in front of the swinging arm, causing it to bounce off before the metal figure returned to the card. The card then flipped down onto Yusei's field, leaving him safe for another turn.

"Since the rest of your hand contains Speed Spells," Yusei yelled, "your turn must be over now; so in the End Phase, I Special Summon Stardust Dragon/Buster from the Cemetery (ATK: 3000, LV: 10)!" Suddenly, the blue energy from earlier returned, recollecting into the blue-armoured white dragon on Yusei's field.

"Then I suppose you may as well continue," Placido stated, "but don't think that you can accomplish anything! Your Accel Synchro Summon has failed, your Saviour has turned its back on you, and that pathetic Buster Mode Monster is powerless. Your fate is sealed by the power of the Aeons!"

"The Aeons?" Yusei questioned, looking back at Placido in complete shock. "The Divine Beings which the Summoners used. So Alessandro spoke true; you do indeed have them."

"If only you knew the full truth," Placido sneered, the form of his machine suddenly bursting out into green light. Before Yusei knew what was happening, green energy formed the shape of a crystalline being overtop of Wisel's form, completely concealing the being from view."

"I don't know what this is," Judai's voice suddenly interjected, "but I won't let it continue!" Suddenly, before Yusei knew what was happening, Judai's D-Wheel jumped down from an overhead track and landed beside Placido's vehicle, Judai's yellow Haou eyes glaring at the latter.

"You dare in interfere in a duel?" Placido questioned, turning to Judai angrily. "I certainly won't forgive that."

"After what you've done to my friends, you don't deserve to even offer forgiveness!" Judai yelled, shooting sideways. Before Yusei knew what was happening, Placido jumped up from the D-Wheel under him; and when Judai struck it, its body simply dissolved into red energy and Placido's sword.

"That's all for this duel I guess," Placido interpreted, grabbing the sword by the hilt and skidding to a stop along the road. Thus, Yusei and Judai both pulled around and stopped, jumping up from their rides and taking off their helmets. Then, Placido's helmet changed back into its hooded form, along with his riding suit changing to its cloaked form, and he held his sword while sneering at his opposition.

"This is the conclusion we have come to," Judai told Placido, the other Riding Duellists pulling to a stop on the platform Judai had just come from. "Just quit this whole farce and tell us what you really plan to do!"

"And why should I do that yet?" Placido questioned. "There's still nearly two hours until the final battle at midnight. There should be something to talk about at that end." Second later, however, the Duel Discs of Yusei, Jack and Crow glowed to life, creating light blue, dark red and black column of light respectively.

Turning their eyes to the distance, the group could see the bright red and dark blue beams shoot up from off in the distance. Then, all of these beams changed into their 4-winged Saviour forms, who met in the middle of the sky to become a huge red orb of energy. With a dazzling display, red lightning emanated from the orb and took on the form of a red and black serpent dragon with glowing yellow facial features, segmented wings and a spaded tail.

"So you have appeared, mighty Crimson Dragon," Placido deduced, looking up upon the God with eyes of complete yearning. "A monster on the same level as my own master, and a monster sacred to Yliaster… how I have longed to behold such beauty."

Letting out a haunting cry, the dragon shot towards where the group was and encircled them, its head facing Placido strongly. Standing behind him, the green-glowing form of the being overtop of Placido's monster held in place; though only the size of the God's head, its form certainly seemed strong.

Stepping off the D-Wheel and to the edge, Taiyou looked down upon the field before him, being too high up to see the green being clearly. Deciding to seek a closer look, he hopped the ledge and jumped down from that height, landing behind Judai and gazing upon the divine-looking monster. "Without a doubt…" he said, staring at the monster darkly. "That's the Aeon of the Sun, Kyojo's Divine Monster."

"You were clearly only ever told half the truth about the Aeons, my dear Taiyou," Placido sneered, the side of his face finally healing and his voice becoming normal (although the red glow remained on the false flesh). "Your master Endymion either did not know as much as anyone thought he did, or he feared the truth."

"And what truth is that?" Yusei questioned. "What connection do the Machine Emperors and Aeons have? You never would have wanted them unless there was some sort of connection; but tell us now the reason."

"Quite simply," Placido started, "the Aeons are the original life forms of this world; but they are definitely biomechanical. Because they are Divine Beings, they exist on a separate plane from regular beings; so in order to exist in this plane, they need another form."

"Hold on…" Judai gasped, his eyes changing to Yubel's eyes as his voice joined hers. "Then you mean that the Aeons are… the Machine Emperors are…"

"Indeed my friends," Placido sneered. "The two are one and the same. Or, more accurately, the Machine Emperors are bodies for the Divine Spirits of the Aeons. My mast, the God of Judgment, is the most powerful of the Aeons; the Creator Aeon, a monster whose power rivals even the Creator God of Light Re-Horahkti or the Demon God Zork Necrophades."

"That much power?" Judai questioned, actually stunned by such a revelation. Though he had seen that the Aeons held a power all their own, he never had any idea that they were true divine entities. "Then they are… true Gods."

"You're surprised?" Placido questioned snidely. "I thought you knew first-hand the power of a God; or at least, of its servants. Perhaps you need a more thorough demonstration."

"We told you already," Yusei responded strongly. "What we want is the truth of what's going on! Answer us! Answer us now!" Seemingly triggered by Yusei's rage, his birthmark began to pulsate and throb, the Crimson Dragon itself looking straight at Placido and firing a burst of red energy from its jaws straight towards him.

"Then allow me…" he responded, pointing up his sword in a way that caused it to receive the burst. Instead of completely destroying him, an orb of crimson energy formed around the blade, sparking red. Then, without any sort of warning, the energy discharged in an arcing pattern into the ground directly in front of Placido; and once all of it was there, a swirling black and red vortex was upon the ground before them.

"…to show you…" he continued, holding up three Ritual Monster cards over his head. Suddenly, his green monster was joined by a pair of similar-looking synthetic beings. One of the two looked female, with long hair and a flowing form; the other, a yellow-glowing monster, towered over its two counterparts, its hulking form shopping it as the strongest of the group.

"Aeons of the Sun, Moon and Stars…" Taiyou said in complete bewilderment. "With the Egyptian Gods sealed away, the Wicked Gods destroyed and the Three Demons sealed within Yubel's form, that makes them the last of the Divine Cards which still roam this world."

Suddenly, Judai's Deck began to glow without warning; and a single card slipped from it, placing itself above Placido's head. When it spun around, it revealed itself to be Judai's Super Fusion card and as it started to glow, the energy beings behind Placido were slowly pulled apart, their forms streaming into the vortex.

"…the world…" Placido added, just before the vortex exploded upwards with a column of crimson, black and yellow energy. Very quickly, the upper body of a similar creature to the previous three took form; what was unique about it, however, was that its form was the same as the Crimson Dragon's in terms of composition; including glowing facial features. Also, three orbs on its chest – one green, one blue and one orange – gave it a composite look; and as it bellowed, to shook the ground below itself.

Suddenly, said monster formed its large right hand into a fist, an orb of energy forming within that as it threw the massive structure straight towards the Crimson Dragon overhead. In response, said dragon began to form a charge of energy in its own jaws; and when the two collided, they fused into a single orb of energy, which quickly expanded until it consumed everything around them.

"…of the Gods." With this said, the energy caused the entire area around the group to fade away into a white light, disappearing from the area.

In the Poppo Time building, Johan had brought Aki downstairs into her bed to rest, and was now standing at guard; until, that is, he noticed a strange red glow in her room. Opening the door, he saw Aki's birthmark glowing brightly before a brilliant red light shot out from it like a bullet; and before he could see what it was, Aki had vanished.

Suddenly, out of the corners of his eyes, he saw a similar glow occurring in Luca's room down the hall. Running to it, he was this time unable to reach her before the glow consumed her, opening the door to find an empty room. _"Those Birthmarks... what are they going to tell them…?"_

As he was nearing his home base at the Old Momentum, Paradox felt a sudden sharp pain in his back; and he was forced to pull over, getting up to see what the problem was. On his back, the form of the Crimson Dragon's seal glowed brightly before it, like those before it, completely consumed his form in red light, leaving only his D-Wheel behind.

"What… happened…?" Alessandro questioned to his two cohorts, in the aftermath of their screens becoming completely blinded in white light. "Placido said… that he would show them… the World of the Gods."

"He's taking them back to the place where he was reborn," Lucciano answered him. "If they see God himself, then they will learn the truth; only then can they truly comprehend what will happen."

"Why does that matter?" Alessandro asked. "If we're simply going to destroy Neo Domino City and the Satellite, why bother showing them anything?"

"Because that may no longer come to pass…" Jose responded solemnly, causing Alessandro to simply nod his head in understanding before reclining back into his chair.

**Card of the Week – Yusei**

**Formula Synchron**

**Type:** EARTH

**Level:** 2

**Family:** [Machine/Synchro/Effect]

**Effect:** Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Monsters

ANIME: Once per turn, you can draw 1 card from your Deck.

OCG/TCG: When this card is successfully Synchro Summoned, its controller can draw 1 card from their Deck. Also, during your opponent's Main Phase, you can perform a Synchro Summon using this card as the Tuner Monster.

**ATK/** 200

**DEF/** 1500


	37. World of the Gods

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 37 – World of the Gods**

Back during the Battle City V2, Yugi once again stood opposite an opponent, as he had done so many times in the past. On his field stood a single monster, a white-skinned figure holding a simple rod staff and wearing a black cloak (ATK: 1900, LV: 4); accompanying it was a single set card, and a group of 4 cards in the hand.

Opposite him, a duellist stood at the ready, also with 4 cards in hand but only a single set one on the field. Reaching for his Deck, he grabbed a single card and spun it around before slapping it onto the tray. "Here I go, Yugi! I summon Landmine Spider (ATK: 2200, LV: 4)!" In an instant a white field of sparks produced the orange and brown form of a three-eyed, spiked spider, its jaws clicking as it looked upon Yugi's monster.

"Next, I open my reverse card: Skill Drain! I pay 1000 Life Points and negate the effects of all monsters on the field!" Watching intently, the man saw a red aura form around the bodies of both monsters, giving Yugi a rather stern look on his face as he beheld the monster opposite him.

Yugi: LP 4000

Enemy: LP 3000

"With that, I don't have to risk my Life Points on an attack! Battle! I attack your Skilled Black Magician with Landmine Spider!" With a rather shrill-sounding shriek for a spider, the monster lunged forward at Yugi's monster, its legs and mouth prepared to shred its target; but before that, Yugi simply smiled confidently.

"Let's just see about that," he said, crouching before extending his arm. "Reverse Card Open: Instant Magic, Dimension Magic!" Surprising everyone around save for himself, Yugi reached into his own hand and pulled out a card to reveal to the enemy. "When a Magician is on my field, I can sacrifice a monster and summon a Magician from my hand. Come, my ace monster: Black Magician (ATK: 2500, LV: 7)!"

Before the opposing duellist had any time to react, Yugi's monster disappeared, the form of a tall metallic structure like an Iron Maiden took up form on his field; then, with a burst of light, it opened to reveal the form of his famous purple-clad, white-skinned magician, green staff pointed at the opposing monster. "Next, with this effect, I destroy 1 face-up monster! Be gone, Landmine Spider!"

Pointing its staff at the opposing spider, the magician fired a single pulse of green energy into the oncoming spider; but that was enough to explode it completely, leaving the opposing duellist looking rather nervous without a single card on its field. "I… I… I set 3 cards and end my turn…"

"Draw," Yugi said simply, looking at his draw very quickly before revealing yet another card from his hand. "From my hand, I activate the Normal Magic, Black Magic Attack! With a Black Magician on my side of the field, all opposing Magic and Trap Cards are destroyed!"

Raising his hand in a triumphant closed fist, Yugi watched as his monster fired 4 blasts of energy in quick succession, each one striking a card before the opposing duellist and shattering it. "And next, I Summon Phantom Beast King Gazelle (ATK: 1500, LV: 4)." Instantly, a maroon lion-like beast with a horn on its head and a long tail appeared, crouching beside Yugi's existing monster.

"Go, Gazelle and Black Magician! Direct attack the opponent!" Lashing forward, the lion-like monster was first to hit its mark, sinking its claws into the enemy briefly before jumping back into place. Then, raising its hand, the magician pulsed energy that reversed the colour spectrum briefly, before an image of the enemy shattered and ended it all.

"_An impressive victory, Muto Yugi, Nameless Pharaoh,"_ a deep voice then echoed in the back of his head, causing him to zone out and find himself back in that white, mist-filled void staring at an image of Placido; only this time, his eye glowed bright red, along with a circuit board pattern around his eye piece.

"You… from back then…" Yugi recalled, his other form appearing beside him with arms crossed and a stern look on his face. "Placido, was it? What do you want from the other me and I?"

"_Partner, be careful,"_ his other warned. _"This man is definitely powerful, and there's an energy about him which is different from last time."_

"How perceptive, Pharaoh," Placido responded in the deep voice, completely unlike his own. "Indeed, you are correct; I am not simply another doppelganger. I am the true Placido." Surprising both Yugis, Placido again spoke using the archaic and highly proper pronouns, very much unlike the modern and confident ones be had used before.

"That voice…" Yugi recalled, suddenly the entire thing flashing back to him. "It belongs to that… that thing…"

"Allow me to show you the truth in a way you had never imagined," Placido offered, the glow on his eye growing more intense. "Come now, and I will show you the task handed down to you by fate…" Eventually, the glow of his eye became so bright that it consumed both Yugi and his other; and as they vanished completely, they felt their body slip away from them once again…

"The World of the Gods," Alessandro responded to what had been going on, looking down upon their vision orb which had become consumed by the bright white light. "A plane of existence which is beyond the humans of this world… so why are they shown such a form?"

"Because these humans are vital to our goals," Jose explained. "Unless we have the power of these humans, our Great God will not have everything it needs to descend upon this world."

"If you insist," Alessandro then responded, crossing his arms. "But if these humans are so vital to our plans, then why has Placido gone to such lengths to torment them? Simply testing them is not enough to warrant the actions he has been taking… which gives me only one possibility…"

"Poor Placido, so close to expiring," Lucciano agreed, sighing. "He's rushing because he hasn't got much time left before that vessel of his is rendered useless…"

"His time is not that short," Jose refuted, getting the attention of the other two. "The issue is that he has burdened himself with the entire mission. A more dogmatic personality you could not find; and that is why God called out to him."

White fog as far as they eye could see, Judai awakened to find himself face-down inside the total veil. No sound existed, and all that could be seen consisted of the blank abyss and the few dark specs of individuals within it. Pressing down with his hands, he eventually brought himself up to his knees, at which point he pushed off further, bracing himself on his shins as he stood up.

Looking around, the world that surrounded him was somewhat… different, he decided, from what had previously been seen. The area above him was massive, like a gigantic hallway with a ceiling kilometres in the air, whose form resembled tiles with randomly glowing, pulsating lines.

Turning to look beside him, he could see Yubel standing just behind him and off to his left, arms crossed as she too looked upon the world that surrounded them. Her form was solid and opaque, pointing out that she had solid presence in this world. Judai's own brown eyes had returned to him, but they still cast the golden yellow glow of his powers (so that he could see around him).

To his other side, he saw Yusei also lying face-down; until, that is, his birthmark lit up on his arm and he stood up, slowly getting to his feet as Judai had done. Soon after him, the ghost-like form of Taiyou came into view, eventually solidifying as well; and then, about 30 metres ahead of them, a red glow came into view, eventually taking the form of a human.

Once their body had solidified, the human form took on a series of features, one by one, until it was revealed to be Placido with his eye piece and circuit board pattern glowing. Looking to him, the four individuals slowly saw the forms of their comrades come into view, floating high above them on red energy that acted as a balcony. Once he had seen that everyone was attentive, Placido began to speak.

"Welcome to the plane of existence that transcends humanity, even spirituality," he told them. "This is a plane of creation itself, where flesh and spirit become one and break the limits of physics. This is the place where the Gods dwell." As he said this, up from the ground behind him erupted the forms of the three glowing beings – green, orange and blue from right to left – and behind Yusei and the others emerged the forms of the Five Saviours, all staring down upon Placido.

"In this world where humans have never stepped before," Placido added, his voice slowly becoming deeper and more disembodied, "exist beings which predate time itself. The Gods have overseen this universe since it was born; and they shall exist long after its demise."

"Fascinating story," Judai told him snidely, "but what exactly does that have to do with us? If humans have never stepped foot here before, then we must be far more important than you've let on. Tell it to us straight."

"Very well," Placido responded, his voice having completely changed into that of the God-like figure 'Zone'. "The reason you have all been brought to this place is because the die of destiny has already been cast; and the roll which it has produced is not a favourable one for humanity."

"Again with the speaking in riddles," the voice of Endymion suddenly and pronouncedly issued, just before the form of Taiyou's Duel Disc burst into a golden light and emerged beside him, arms crossed. "To have brought us all this way and simply speak in such roundabout way… I almost grow to think it's all a ploy to waste our time."

"You're…" Taiyou realized, turning and taking a slight step back while he thought about what he had just seen. Since the battle, Taiyou had not once heard his master's voice; and now, he was standing before him, as solid as Yusei or Judai. "I see. Within this world, since both substance and spirit are as one, even dead spirits can take solid form."

On the floating platform of energy above the crowd, Kiryu pushed himself to his feet, discovering that his own leg had lost all pain. Feeling his leg, none of the bones were out of place or seemed damaged; and he grasped instantly that, as Taiyou let on, the properties of this world were responsible.

"Unlike the human world," Placido explained in the God's voice, "this place is the host for properties which most humans would label mere pipe dreams or fairy tails. One of these is, as you said Taiyou, the blending of the spiritual and physical; another one, far more important, is the ability to see not only in the three physical dimensions, but in the fourth dimension as well."

"You can see through time," Yusei interpreted, understanding the principle of physics that time is as much a dimension as height, width and length. "Then of course you know of a dark fate; you can see things that have not happened yet, can't you?"

"Very perceptive Yusei," Placido answered, "which is also how my grasp can extend beyond the current frame of time. But I digress; simply boasting of my powers wastes time which could be used more productively. And after my servant Placido had worked so hard to progress the plan this rapidly, it would be rude of me to waste time now."

"We already know of the Circuit," Yusuriha said down upon the man, standing up using her now-healed spine just as the massive, armoured form of her ace warrior appeared behind her. "Between Placido's Riding Roids and his own attacks, your plan is nearly complete now, isn't it?"

"Such a narrow and ignorant line of sight I should have come to expect from human beings," Placido responded, sneering and causing Yusuriha to growl from the insult. "Placido's most plan predates that of the Dark Signers; it predates Zero Reverse. However, your notion of it nearing fruition is in fact true; but not how you believe."

"Since before Zero Reverse?" Kyojo questioned, also standing on his freshly repaired legs while the body of his red and white serpent dragon coiled around the group up there. "Then The Three Emperor system which was instated… that was part of your plan all along?"

"Very perceptive. You see, Yliaster is the organization which serves my will; and it has existed for as long as humanity has. It was born among the Ancient Sumerians and the Atlanteans, the first two successful human civilizations; and even with their destructions, Yliaster lived on and found its way to the Pre-Nazca culture which worshipped the Crimson Dragon, my brother."

"Your brother?" Endymion questioned, even a mind as ancient and wise as his being confounded by such a realization. "You are brethren to the Crimson Dragon, the being which protects my world?"

"The purpose of my brother is a God of War," Placido answered abstractly. "In the beginning of time, a single Deity, an Aeon if you will, came into existence along with this universe. Some time later, it was split into twelve Aeons, with that Creator Aeon's existence being lost to time after she created us. Then, each Aeon was split among different worlds."

"Those being the Twelve Spirit Dimensions," Judai realized. "I knew back then that a higher power had to be involved with such similar worlds. Each of you twelve was divided among a different dimension to watch over it, weren't you?"

"Close; we were the creators of those twelve dimensions. While our creator gave rise to these worlds, it was upon us to populate them and then watch over them. Once they were populated, we each took upon ourselves different roles. My brother the Crimson Dragon became a War God, instilling the rule of the Divine so that threats to existence could be neutralized. I gained a role as a God of Judgment."

"So all those who offend the will of God are required to answer to you," Taiyou gathered. "Tell me, when Placido answered to you, what did you discover about him? Or has it been so long that you have forgotten?"

Tilting his head and briefly closing his eyes, Placido responded with, "That is none of your concern." Then, opening his eyes and looked back up, adding, "However, I can tell you that far too many have failed my tests. Humans far too often stray onto the path of sin and darkness; and they almost all prayed for my mercy before I handed down my sentence. Placido's judgments have been no less dogmatic, but it was his tactfulness which gained him value to me.

"You see, Placido learned of his own volition, in a world blanketed in the veil of ignorant belief which is Christianity, of my existence and my true purpose from the pages of Gnosticism, a religion frowned upon by others in that time. He risked his very life and his immortal soul in the afterlife in a ritual to find me; and I knew instantly that his calculating qualities were perfect for me.

"In the years since Placido converted to me, he made many valiant attempts to revive Yliaster in full force. You see, after the collapse of the ancient civilizations, Yliaster's teachings became ghostly whispers in the background of humanity, being passed on by a select few. Placido tried time and time again to revive the organization into a full group, but to no avail."

"There have been countless secret societies throughout history," Jack pointed out, standing on his feet. "Groups such as the Illuminati, the Knights' Templar, and the Freemasons are all groups people are quite familiar with. So tell me now, 'Zone', why no records in history describe the existence of Yliaster?"

"Because all of those secret societies you mentioned were fronts for Yliaster," Placido explained, shocking everyone clearly and making them all shift on their feet. "Revealing to the world that they were fronts for the true God would have been heresy; thus, they hid their true goal under the guise of these societies. However, time and time again, these groups have strayed from their path and done misdeeds which I had not requested."

"Which is why none of them exist anymore," Yusei gathered. "Every single one of them became too well-known at some point, or vital information was leaked; and whenever this happened, you destroyed them to erase your steps. I take it that this Placido… he was a member of all of them?"

"He founded them. And he has taken further steps than that to seek the completion of my will. Towards more modern years, humans have made vast progress in the worlds of science and engineering; but in doing so, conflicts and darkness have been created; and so Placido has more than once had to stir up events which would attempt to correct that course."

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Crow questioned. "What the f-?" before he could complete the word, he was consumed by a shocking field of red energy, which let up in a few seconds; and then he rephrased his quandary: "What exactly did he do for this so-called keeping of the balance?"

"Humans have had to be reminded over the centuries that they are not indestructible or infallible. Then the Great Depression descended upon Germany, Placido knew he had to reinstate an effective leader, so Germany could rise back up ad create balance. Sadly, the leader he gave this power to, had an agenda which completely went against our plans."

"Don't tell me…" Judai gathered, growing sterner as he thought. "Adolf Hitler… he gained rise to power because of you?" Rage formed in Judai's eyes and he clenched his fist as he barked out, "What is wrong with you?"

"We realized our mistake all too late," Zone replied in a sombre tone, the first expression the God voice had made since appearing before them. "Correcting the mistake, Placido went before the USSR, disguised as one of their own, and arranged for the assassination of this man you call 'Hitler'. After that, the body was erased, leaving no proof of what truly happened.

"But humans still did not learn. The western world became arrogant, believing that anything they wanted they could simply take. Starting conflicts in Cuba, Korea and Vietnam created only temporary panic, but did not solve our problems; even the Bosnian genocide did not wake up humans to their own latent darkness."

"Why you…!" Taiyou snarled, his own rage starting to build. "You killed all those innocent people for nothing? How can you possibly justify such blood-shed?"

"Sometimes, sacrifices must be made in the name of the greater good," Zone told him nonchalantly, amazing everyone at the sheer callousness of these words. "It was not until the plane crash into the Twin Towers on September 11th, 2001, that people finally clued in to their own weakness."

"Them too…" Yusei gasped out. "How many peoples' lives have you snuffed out like candles in the pursuit of your so-called maintenance of the balance?"

"Far more than you would ever care to know. Fortunately, though, the blood-shed needed not continue far beyond that; with the advent of the Summoners returning, Yliaster could truly be reformed."

"I suppose such an event played right into your hands, didn't it?" Yusuriha questioned. "Did our powers make good enough weapons for you?"

"You wouldn't have even known of your powers had I not woken you up to them. Do you think it was a mere accident that the five Summoners met, shortly afterwards gaining knowledge of their powers? Right from birth you have been pawns in the chess game known as fate; a game that Placido, as my most loyal servant, had played admirably.

"Once all five Signer Dragons had been awakened, and bound to the souls of their invoking parties, the platform of Yliaster had been set up. Placido recommended Taiyou as the Emperor of Yliaster, knowing that after he stepped down the others would follow, and the throne would become his. The Three Emperor System Taiyou suggested diminished the power for an Emperor, but Placido was still in line for the throne."

"What about Maenou?" Yubel questioned, just as a large, shadowy figure began to form behind Judai and became the body of the aforementioned demon. "His activities must have created turbulence for your plans, assuming of course he was _not_ a piece in your chess game."

"Maenou's folly was a rather annoying inconvenience, but nothing that would ruin our plans. The ensuing battle spilling over into the Dominion of Beasts, my home world, caused Maenou to be defeated and sealed away, using the power of the Three Aeon cards which represent my spawn. I knew when Taiyou gave them to Placido for safe-keeping that the others would soon depart; for without their friend, the painful memories would be too much to bear.

"And certainly enough, after the Summoners left their posts, Placido and the Brothers Godwin took up their thrones, using their combined power to forge Yliaster back into a full-fledged organization. Rudger's death and fall from grace created a vacancy at the top of the organization, one which Placido's colleague Jose soon found to be his own."

"Jose," Maenou declared, being hung up on that name. "That's the first time you have mentioned anyone besides Placido by name. Where does he fit into all this?"

"Jose, like Placido, is a servant of mine who has seen rebirth at the hands of conflict. His original name has been lost to time; he died an unknown soldier in the Boer War, whose soul Placido guided to me. I knew instantly that he would be of great use to me, and so extended him the same offer as Placido. An offer no human could refuse; immortality, imperviousness, and great power. In return for serving me, my servants are able to shed the shell of humanity and gain everything they ever desired.

"Once Jose rose to power, Godwin quickly discovered that without his brother, he had virtually no power. Once he resigned, Alessandro, the young man from Peru whom Placido had saved, took up his throne; but he did not stay long, for he did not want such power and responsibility. Thus, Lucciano was built and activated, so that my servants had absolute control over Yliaster."

"Why would you need such an iron-fisted rule over humankind?" A strong, forceful voice suddenly asked. Looking upwards, Placido's shell and the entire group saw the form of Mutou Yugi descending to a standing position in front of the others; then, as they stood their awestruck, they realized that this Yugi was very different from the one they knew of from records. In fact, Only Judai seemed to have any recognition of him.

This Yugi was taller than his original self; and though he had the same hair, his voice was somewhat deeper and his tone more forceful. Even his eyes reflected further maturity, giving him a form much closer to the spirit which had inhabited him. "Even after having lost of spirit of my Pharaoh," Maenou realized and said aloud, "his great gains have made him a mirror image of his other half."

"If you are truly a God," Yugi reiterated, "then you could simply do away with those who stood to oppose you. Why then go to all this trouble, attacking such people and doing away with opposition on a one-by-one basis?"

"The answer is that as an Aeon," Placido's form answered, "I cannot directly act upon the world of the living. The barrier in our worlds does not simply prohibit normal humans from coming here; it also bars me from leaving this world, along with any of my brethren. However, by acting through an emissary, I can remain within my world and still do what needs to be done."

"However, that has proved more and more difficult as the years have passed. Too few of my true apostles remain upon this earth; and the growing wicked influence upon humans has made such methods just short of useless."

"Growing wicked influence?" Judai asked. "What exactly are you talking about?" Moments later, however, a memory came flooding back into his mind of his final year, his final battle, at Duel Academia; and how Darkness had told him of the spreading corruption of Duel Monsters from those with negative emotions.

"I take it from your expression that you have some knowledge of the matter," Zone responded, before moving on to address the group again. "Indeed, Judai, as you have guessed, human beings are far from infallible; in fact, they are perhaps more flawed than any other beings in creation. No other terrestrial organisms understand greed, wrath, envy or pride; no, only humans live drenched in the sins of their own creation.

"But, in recent years, humans have gotten far worse. Those who suffer from avarice are taking lives, destroying entire cities or ecosystems, all in the name of fortune. You, Fudo Yusei, and your friends, are familiar with the elitism which oppressed Satellite nearly beyond repair; and individuals like you, Miss Izayoi Aki, have caused destruction and misery solely out of hatred and rage."

"I…" Aki stammered, looking upon the being with a sorrowful expression. "I am not proud of the things I have done; but I am doing my best to atone for them."

"For the countless lives you have broken, damaged, or outright removed from this earth, there is no atonement. The same goes for you, Yuki Judai; your wanton malice destroyed thousands of lives for the sake of power and control."

"I never realized Gods were such hypocrites," Judai snidely responded to the comment. "You chastise me for thousands of deaths, when you admit to being responsible for billions of them in the name of what you call 'The Greater Good'. Tell me, 'Zone', exactly how is what you're doing any different from what any of us have had to do?"

"Because when I take lives, I do not interfere with the balance of the world," Zone responded. "To tread on the feet of God, to play God the way you have, is a disgrace to the true powers of your world. Humans like you are all the same; wicked, greedy and filled with hatred, which they quench through inescapable delusions of grandeur.

"Humans like you were a mistake in creation. Your original purpose was to help maintain a balance upon this world; but when you discovered what this world had to offer, you wouldn't simply stare at the forbidden fruit. You had to taste of it, and thus you were cast down from the heavens. But you took with you the seeds of that fruit, and have grown your own trees.

"Only now, the soil is so arid and malnourished that your entire forest will soon crumble down upon itself. The driving forces of your world are greedy and corrupt, satisfying their own desires at the cost of your world. I can allow this to stand no longer."

"That is where the Circuit comes in," Placido's voice declared, finally resurfacing from the possessed shell. "Through the power of Momentum, human duel energy has been extracted and harnessed. Very shortly, enough will be created that we can punch a hole through the dimensional barrier, and God will once again descend upon this world, just as the Aeons first did when this rock was born."

"Except that my revival does not come without drawbacks," Zone added, his voice once again replacing Placido's. "Though that energy can breach the dimensional boundaries, a solid mass to act as the physical gateway must be constructed of sacrifices. Therefore, Neo Domino City itself will be sacrificed; and from there, I can restore balance to this world."

"Sacrificing Neo Domino City?" Yusei blurted out in a stunned tone, staring upon the being incredulously. "How can you do such a thing? A truly caring God could never take these actions. Tell me now; how does using so many innocent lives help do what is right?"

"Neo Domino City is filled with nothing but sinners and heretics to the true self of the world," Zone replied harshly. "The entire city is powered by Momentum, an energy which taps into the very souls of human beings. It is alchemy, as old as time itself; drawing power from the living to sustain them. But this is a power which humans should never have been allowed to learn of."

"Again with such talk!" Jack bellowed, raising his fist to the deity. "You can reference scripture all you want, but in the end you're no different from how you describe humans. We discovered Momentum of our own power, and so it is our right to use it! I won't be told that just because Gods use such a power, that humans have no right to as well!"

"You so passionately defend something which you do not understand," Zone told Jack condescendingly. "I told you already; it is a power which draws upon souls. It has been used for wicked deeds, using human spirits to massacre their bodies. In the testing and development of Momentum, how many lives do you think were sacrificed?"

Upon making this statement, the eyes of everyone in the room went as wide as they could. Stares of horrified awe crossed the faces of everyone around; they did not want to think, could not think, that the clean, safe power which had revolutionized their city, had been forged from human sacrifice.

"Momentum was first learned of in ancient times, by the first Dark Signers. They used tens of thousands of human sacrifices to awaken every single Earthbound God; and unlike in recent years, these sacrifices did not return. When it was developed this time, the researchers at MIDS had no knowledge of this fact; but they soon discovered that gruesome truth. And rather than abandon the project, they continued with it; and ultimately, nearing 8000 lives were lost to create the first Momentum.

"Upon the completion of this device, we attempted to use Rudger Godwin's sense of dogma to our advantage. He knew the results of Momentum being destroyed, being reversed; and we knew that he would eliminate that disgrace to creation once and for all. And had it stayed that way, everything would have been fine; but because a second Momentum was build, humans continued to bathe in sin."

"That's the most masochistic thing I've ever heard," Endymion said hostilely to the God in front of him. "If you understood Momentum's power, you would have known better than anyone the effects of that explosion. You were willing to unleash the Dark Signers upon the world, and destroy an entire city, simply to remove that power from human hands?"

"Humans never would have willingly relinquished Momentum," Placido told him, again resurfacing. "Besides, it is again no coincidence that Zero Reverse came after the final battle with Maenou. Quite simply, with the only threat to the Summoners, and thus the Signers, gone, we knew that even if the Dark Signers returned, they would quickly be returned to the darkness whence they came."

"You used us to do your dirty work," Crow paraphrased in an annoyed tone. "Besides, how does that justify the destruction that Zero Reverse caused?"

"Zero Reverse was an unfortunate result of the explosion; but we believed that such a dangerous result of Momentum being mishandled would make humans realize how much of a mistake the technology was."

"Except that humans still did not understand the message," Zone played off of Placido, growing more stern-sounding than before. "They rebuilt Momentum, continuing with the Alchemy and using human souls as a power source. This time, living souls were used as the power, so no lives needed be lost; but that does not excuse the path humans have taken. Had I not intervened, humans would continue."

"But then why not simply use your connections to stop Momentum completely?" Maenou pondered. "Yliaster is an all-powerful group, one which no doubt has countless political allies; why not simply have Momentum decommissioned."

"That only eliminates further infection; it does not cleanse the wound. Until humans have been brought to penance for their actions, and have truly realized their mistakes and changed, will any good have been done? As it stands, humans do not understand where they went wrong; nor can they. Modern humans are so ignorant that they do not understand the concept of souls, or harnessing them; and those who do see only a free and beneficial source of power, no matter the cost."

"You're nothing but a misanthrope," Kyojo scorned the deity, "basing all these judgments of humans on the actions of a few."

"Your opinion of me is immaterial," Zone told Kyojo strongly. "The bottom line is that a mistake in human history will soon be erased, along with you miserably anthropoids who have dared to stand in my way." With the glow on his form finally dying out, Placido sneered as he saw the forms of the three objects behind him turn red;; then their auras fused into a single, towering mass, within which the silhouette of a new monster could be seen.

"The Saviours are the Demigods of the Crimson Dragon," Placido reminded them, extending up his left arm so that his Deck slot in his wrist extended open. "So answer to such a power, I shall call upon my Master's strongest servant, and then show you the power it beholds!" Instantly the red aura behind him split into three strands, shooting into the Deck and solidifying into cards atop the pile one by one.

"Fudo Yusei, Yuki Judai; you two are the strongest of your groups, and your represent the only forces to actively oppose my Master's will. I will not spare either of you in this final battle; prepare to fight, and die, for that which you believe in." As this statement was finished, a burst of light emanated from his hand and consumed the world around them, only to vanished and leave them standing on the highway section, under the moon-lit sky.

"Placido," Yusei inquired, accusingly pointing at him as all of the monster spirit slowly dissolved away, leaving only Yubel and Endymion in their spirit forms standing behind their partners. "How can you subject yourself to this kind of mindless loyalty? Do you have no sympathy for your fellow humans? Why are you doing all of this?"

"The humans which have stained this world's soul and face black with their malice," Placido answered as dogmatically as his previous possessor, "must be punished for their actions. We had believed that you of all people could see that, and stand alongside us to purify this world. But since you have refused, I have no choice but to eliminate you."

"When I knew you all those years ago," Taiyou responded to his former ally, "You and I were complete brothers in arms. Has some voice in your head really turned you against all of us?"

Switching expressions to an amused sneer, Placido chuckled lightly for a second before saying, "I've had just as much fun as you have Taiyou; but you must understand that my master is also my saviour. He rescued this body from death's door, and gave me a second chance at life; so of course I must do as he says. Especially when it means the saving of this world."

"Godwin told me you were an idealist," Judai responded to the man. "All you and your master want is to make this world a better place."

"Finally, a glimmer of understanding. Yes; that is our goal. There are many people in this world who are good-hearted like me; sadly, they are often misguided, and do not understand the value of their powers, so they do nothing. Our fears lie with those who are beyond saving. Poisoned by wickedness, there is no fate for them but to suffer damnation eternally."

Reaching for his scabbard, Placido rapidly pulled his sword and held it upwards, creating a red aura of energy around him that rose like a column of light. A second later, Placido arose atop the pillar, his helmet on and his D-Wheel beneath him, and he hell down onto the road in front of Judai and Yusei. "Come; it's almost midnight, and we have a duel to deal with."

Nodding instantly, Judai and Yusei both pulled on their helmets, jumping onto their vehicles and starting them up. Before anybody else could react, the three of them took off at lightning pace, Placido leading the way for the three of them. When they were almost out of sight, Taiyou turned to Kyojo and Yusuriha above and yelled out his intentions.

"We have to go with them as well," he told them. "Somebody has to get to the bottom of Paradox; and something tells me that we'll see him where those three are going." Fading out, the man then reappeared beside his friends, Endymion fading back whence he came; and Yugi simply turned to look upon the direction the men had gone, a stern look in his eyes.

"_Years ago, I would have been the one to jump in and take up arms against a foe," _he reflected, watching the three duellists riding off after the ones before them._ "But my time has passed. Atem and I finished our story long ago; and without the Egyptian Gods, my powers are nothing before a true God."_

"Hey, Yugi-san!" Jack yelled out to the man, getting his attention. "We can't simply stay here when there's work to be done. Come with us; the more people we have to fight with, and to support each other, the better our odds."

Without missing a beat, he responded up to Jack, "Yes. I will fight alongside you."

Standing outside the chasm for the Old Momentum and its duel tower, Paradox braced himself against his D-Wheel, panting and wincing in pain. Having been in that world, he could see all the others standing there, no issues at all; and yet he had been trapped in a sphere of energy, repeatedly shocking him and causing him to become numb.

"_I laugh upon the Gods… almost as much as humans,"_ he realized. _"They did nothing to stop the destruction of my world; so now I have no regard for them, or for their servants."_ Bracing himself up, the man simply took two steps forward and began a vertical, quiet freefall into the chasm below, staring down into the darkness while his mask's eyes began to glow the neon orange that his eyes let off.

Falling into the Darkness, he reached for the Duel Disc on his left arm and pulled a single card from the Deck, holding it up into the air. In only a moment the snaking, hissing form of his masked white dragon emerged, coiling around the reactor in the darkness as its wings folded around Paradox's body. These gripped him firmly and slowed his fall, allowing him to land on the floor below on his feet.

While this monster faded away, Paradox stared upon the screen on his device. He watched as the two duellists followed behind Placido, the stern looks on their faces and their silence giving away their grave moods. Placido, by contrast, bore the sneering smile of a man victorious. "Keep in smirking, Placido," he then issued under his breath. "You'll get to smile for eternity once I erase you from this time."

Hearing the sound of quick, shallow breathing caused Johan to begin stirring, regaining some awareness of where he was, followed by a realization of what had happened. Placing one hand against the wall, and the other over his face, he managed to pull himself up; but his eyes were sore, as though he had been welding without a mask.

Looking into one of the empty rooms, Aki and Luca were lying unconscious, curled up together like two sisters in the olden days. Barely being able to see them through his blurry vision, Johan was at least able to see that they were safe and sound; and thus he felt calmed. However, his mood evaporated when he saw a green glow out the window at the end of the hall.

Stepping over to this window, he looked out the top floor of the building and saw across the waterfront to the Satellite in the distance. A strange, web-like glow of energy spread over the roadways, including the Daedalus Bridge, and it all looked as though it spread to the Old Momentum's main body. "What's about to happen to this world…?" he asked softly, before fatigue once again overtook him and he fell to the floor on his face…

In a flash of light, Yugi and the Pharaoh suddenly found themselves standing exactly where they had been earlier, as though nothing had changed whatsoever. The cards that had been on their Duel Disc and in their hand were still there, and everyone was in the same pose they had taken up earlier.

Still, both of them felt uneasy; a strange sense of dread they would not classify. It was as though… destiny itself had bent. _"That Placido… what has he done to our future?"_

Riding quickly along the roads, the three Summoners led the group of Riders after their two friends, the noise of their engines the only sound that was made at all. Everyone knew in their hearts that there was nothing more to be done; but none could accept that fact. They had to do everything possible to fight, no matter what the outcome.

As the Daedalus Bridge drew nearer, the Summoners accelerated wildly, which told all of the others that the first three had done so as well. However, the Summoners had done so by accelerating onto the bridge; then, as the others approached it, a huge wall of glowing green energy burst up at its entrance, blocking them off and forcing them to stop cold, glaring upon the scene with deathly silence.

Then, just as suddenly as the wall had arisen, everybody could feel a strange sensation, the feeling of static electricity, seemingly coming from everywhere and rolling over their bodies. A burst of light revealed beneath everyone's feet a glowing circuit board pattern over the roads, its lines flowing and connecting everywhere along the various highways and off ramps. Once it had finished spreading, it consumed the entire city streets like vines of ivy, radiating light and heat brighter than the lights of the day.

"What… is all of this…?" Yugi suddenly and softly asked, his face and everyone else's being lit up by the green glow and giving them neon effects to their skin. "All of this energy… there's no way it's from the roads themselves…"

"It must be the Circuit's true form," Kiryu responded. "The way it spreads… like the webs of Rudger's spiders, almost completely consuming everything in their path. But in this case, all this energy has been extracted from duels… from the souls of duellists."

"Momentum is a living energy, from what we were told," Jack added. "The way it's spread… it must grow and multiply on its own, like a blanket of algae on a pond. Normally, even I would say that energy cannot do that… but if it truly lives, then it cannot be normal…"

"Momentum is a living organism as well as an energy…" a disembodied voice suddenly declared, just before the cloaked form of Alessandro appeared right in front of the bridge, between it and the riders. His shadowed face all but lit up by the green glow, his expression of superiority and his cold, glassy eyes gave him an other-worldly look; one which even caused the others to gain looks of fright.

"Both…?" Yugi questioned, getting off of Jack's D-Wheel and stepping forward to look the cloaked man in the eyes. "How can something be both alive and non-corporeal?"

"Momentum is not bound by the physical laws of your world," Alessandro answered. "But, if you want to learn more, then I demand a price." Reaching his arm forward, he revealed a Duel Disc strapped over his metal arm (most likely so he could keep his cloak in the cold night air), extending it forward and revealing a Deck of cards.

"Let me guess… you wish for me to win a duel against you?" Yugi asked, getting a glare back from the man which silently stated, 'What do you think?' Yugi's reply was to reach over his back, pulling out an old Battle City Duel Disc and strapping it to his arm, activating it and placing a Deck inside.

"Very soon, you will all see the most grand thing you can comprehend…"

**Card of the Week – Yugi**

**Black Magic Attack**

**Normal Spell**

You can only activate this card when there is a face-up "Black Magician" on your side of the field. Destroy all Magic and Trap Cards on your opponent's side of the field.

*The final Duel starts next chapter. Review if you wish.*


	38. The Duel of Revelations

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 38 – The Duel of Revelations, Judai & Yusei vs. Placido**

With the wind flapping back and forth at hurricane force, whipping around the light cast from the sigils along the ground, Alessandro's rather disturbing expression of sadistic pleasure was illuminated by the rolling forms of energy. His blue eyes seemed as black as the night from this, the glow of his left eye barely visible.

"Now, let us begin," he issued, his cloak dissolving off his body and the energy collecting on his cocked left arm. From his wrist a Deck extended into place, from which 5 cards slid. Grabbing them, he fanned them in his hand but did not look at them; instead, he continued to stare Yugi down.

Without so much as a word to describe himself, Yugi activated his Duel Disc, extending the tray into position and likewise grabbing 5 cards from that. Immediately after this, Alessandro let out a dark chuckle and asked, "What's wrong, Yugi-san?" The dripping sarcasm in his voice around that honorific stung at Yugi; but he simply reached for another card on his Deck instead.

Yugi: LP 4000

Alessandro: LP 4000

"It's my turn," he issued, taking the card he had drawn and putting it down instantly. "I activate Fusion, and by sending Phantom Beast King Gazelle and Baphomet from my hand to my Cemetery, I call upon Winged Phantom Beast Chimera (ATK: 2100, LV: 6)!" From his hand the form of the chestnut brown lion-like monster and a red 4-armed devil with angel wings formed; these spiralled together and created a dull yellow two-headed lion, with similar wings and a cobra for a tail.

"Next I shall set these 2 cards and end my turn." Once he had taken these last cards and placed them down, his intense gaze returned to the face of the man before him. It was callous, cold and uncaring; traits he did not expect from another human. He only hoped the man's ruthlessness was simply for show; even with his skill, Yugi knew that he was rusty and that this man was powerful.

"Is that all?"Alessandro questioned sneeringly, grabbing his sixth card and looking into his own hand. "Then I shall place 3 cards face-down and end my turn." Confused, Yugi watched the man make a very simple and concise move before saying, "If you wish to play this way, I shall meet all your mediocre plays with equal mediocrity; until, of course, you show me a real duel, Yugi-san."

Riding over the Daedalus Bridge, both Yusei and Judai had clear looks of tenseness upon their faces; but Yusei truly felt the most dread, while Judai's golden Haou eyes reflected his current rage. After watching the decimation of their friends, the two of them knew it was time for the final battle to begin. Midnight or not, they knew the only thing left to do was duel and defeat Placido. That was the only way to end the madness.

Placido, ahead of them, rode silently as he watched the entire road around him become consumed by the overflowing tendrils of the Circuit, now coming to the surface and giving him new reason to smile. With his plan now so close to fruition, he prepared to complete the process; and once that occurred, he knew full-well, he would complete his dogmatic bond to Zone…

Towards the end of the Bridge, Placido started on a very direct route towards the Old Momentum Reactor, one which bore the very last threads of the Circuit's glow. Turning his focus to the sky, he witnessed the dark clouds beginning to roll in, slowly but surely converging directly above the tower at the centre of the Momentum.

"That's…" Judai gasped out, looking upon the tower while the memory of its shape entered into his head. "That tower is from back then, when Cobra…" closing his eyes and turning his head to one side, Judai cringed at the painful memory while Yusei observed silently, sensing Judai's pained memory but knowing not of it first-hand.

Eventually the spiralling ramp of the tower came into view, almost a perfect match to the ground surrounding the crater of the Old Momentum. Placido, Yusei and Judai close behind, wasted to time in jumping the large chasm and reaching the slope, gaining traction and firing upwards. The three Summoners, on the other hand, pulled themselves to a sudden and parallel-to-the-hole stop, jumping off and standing directly behind their now-stationary rides.

Pulling off his helmet first, Kyojo turned to the other two as they did likewise; then, throwing his helmet aside, he pronounced strongly, "It's time we went forth and faced our destiny." With solid, prideful looks, they all rushed forwards and shot down into the depths of the chasm, staring down the 200-foot depth while the light of Momentum gradually brightened and intensified.

Then, without waning, a flash of light occurred, preceding a whishing sound through the air and a sharp pain in Kyojo's shoulder. Grunting, he felt to his wound while throwing himself back, Yusuriha doing likewise so they gained traction and applied friction to slow themselves. By the time they reached the bottom, the source of Kyojo's pain revealed itself: embedded in his left shoulder was the image of a card, and as he pulled it loose said card revealed itself as one of the darkened copies of Red Daemon's Dragon used by X earlier.

Letting out a dark chuckle, Paradox, standing amidst the intense orange glow, let his presence be known with his masked face staring upon the three before him. Gripping his shoulder in pain, Kyojo slouched back while Taiyou took the card and threw it back to the sender. Paradox's laughter came to an abrupt end when the card hit his mask in the forehead, splitting it in half and causing the shattered pieces to fall to the ground, revealing his glowing golden eyes.

"Time to cut the bullshit once and for all Paradox," the apparitional Summoner issued, watching the blond man stare back upon him and his friends. "The game is up; while Yusei and Judai bring Placido to an end, we're here to take you down as well; but first, we want the full truth about this little scheme you and he concocted."

"Placido and I are players in a chess game played by the Gods, upon the game board," Paradox answered in riddle form, true to his name. "However, he and I are not allies; we've simply pooled efforts to accomplish the common goal." Taking a moment to blink and smile darkly, he added, "That being said, I suppose I owe you some explanation for by actions; so allow me to do just that."

Having said this, Paradox slowly turned his body until his back was facing the three Summoners. Though at first confused by this gesture, their realization fully emerged when the full Crimson Dragon's seal formed upon his back, glowing through his coat. "I am the last of my kind," Paradox explained, turning back to face the three friends with his eyes' highlights now glowing red. "The final Signer to have ever lived; and even more tragically, I am the last human alive on this planet…"

Hearing such piercing and dramatic words, the Summoners had no response but to stare back upon Paradox, eyes and moth wide open.

Meanwhile, atop the tower, Placido, Judai and Yusei were just now reaching the top of the structure, with Placido turning into a stop near the edge of the platform while the two friends braked closer to the centre. "It's now midnight," Placido informed. "And the venue for the final battle you two will ever partake in… is within a few seconds of completion."

Staring down upon his chest, Placido sneered while the green gem on his metal armour opened from the centre back towards the edges, revealing a strange green glow within his chest. Soon the object revealed itself by extending forth from his chest; a glowing green ball of plasma, formed of an electrical field around a series of floating energy particles flowing in the shape of an Infinity symbol.

Staring at the object from Placido's body, Judai and Yusei were completely entranced by the flowing energy contained within this strange object. Their shock then turned to horror as Placido reached forth and grabbed the green ball, sinking the tips of his fingers into the object and pulling it to each side. The object deformed and stretched, and its form spread a field of green energy up his arms and across his entire body, causing him to grunt in pain despite bearing a masochistic and somewhat-insane smile.

Eventually, despite the protest of the object, Placido eventually pulled the object until it tore, splitting into 2 identical smaller orbs with the same pattern inside them. While Placido stopped and panted in a damaged, mechanical voice, both objects expanded to the size that the original one. One of the two objects Placido placed into his chest where the old one had been; then, he held his other hand to the air, his twisted face looking upon the two humans as he uttered,

"Then He said, let there be light…" In the blink of an eye he released the green glowing orb, which, free of any host, shot green energy streams down through the centre of the platform's tower, where the energy collided with the Old Momentum's energy core. The entire of the chasm walls, the tower and the platform burst into the same pattern of glowing energy as the Circuit; then, the ground began to shake as an ominous hum rang out.

Watching intently, Placido saw the entire form of the Circuit dissolve from its normal form into the flow of energy much like those that spawned it, contracting and bleeding into the body of the Momentum Reactor. Under the wheels of the three duellists' D-Wheels, the body of the Circuit began to take shape again, forming a floating Infinity Symbol Circuit Board pattern streaming across the skies above Satellite and Neo Domino City.

"Well, Yugi-san, I must say I'm less than impressed," Alessandro sneered, watching as the Circuit in the distance began to dissolve away. Looking down at his own right hand, he watched intently as his entire form changed into pure green energy, shocking those who were looking on at him.

"I had hoped that we would be able to spend more time together; after all, I'm an undying fan. However, it's time I exited stage right. Adios." With a final dark chuckle, Alessandro's entire form simply dissolved away, changing into more green energy dust and flowing away with the Circuit while it went by.

"Wait!" Yugi yelled, watching the Solid Vision die down. "Come back here!" However, it was far too late; Alessandro was gone, and he had taken with him any further knowledge of what was to occur. Looking up to the sky, Yugi could see the storm that was approaching; and he knew in his soul that something far worse was to come with it…

When the entire form of the symbol had finished forming, the green orb sank into the glowing circuit; then, millimetre by millimetre, the glowing form rose into the air, until its form hovered many feet above the tallest skyscrapers in either city. Energy pulsed along the length of the circuit, creating an electrical hum. At approximately the same time as this, the sound of thunder began to echo within the clouds.

"When one lap of this duelling track has been completed," Placido explained, his Deck extending out from his arm and locking into place, "there will be enough energy to finish the gateway into the World of the Gods. With the Gate of Truth completed, He will be able to cross over into this world; and with this city no more, we will be one step closer to returning this world to a pure state."

"That's not going to happen!" Judai insisted, his eyes flashing over into Yubel's while he raised his hand into a defiant fist. "I'll – no, we'll stop you at any cost! Bring it on!" At these uttered words, Yusei likewise put on his game face and loaded his Deck for a duel; and Placido, enthused by excited and thus energy-rich opponents, licked his lips triumphantly.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning came down from the clouds and struck the centre of the circuit, creating a jolt which made the entire structure flash. Looking up to the sky, the clouds had begun to swirl and spin violently, kicking up winds and causing more electricity to arc down from the sky into the circuit. "Oh dear me," Placido said in a semi-sarcastic, semi-unstable voice. "It appears the circuit is somewhat… imperfect, shall we say."

"Enough riddles Placido," Yusei warned sternly. "What does 'imperfect' mean in this case, and what does that mean for this city?"

"Quite simply," Placido answered, "The Yusei particles making up the circuit cannot react properly with earth energy. If left unstable, or incomplete as it were, then it may very well implode and create a dimensional rift instead of a gateway. In other words, should this experiment fail, then the three of us will become part of the spawning of a large black hole in time-space itself."

"What?" Judai questioned in his and Yubel's fused voiced, the horror of the idea settling upon both of them quickly. "You bastard! How can you do this to all of us?"

"I'm simply doing what God's role dictates I do," he answered. "This is the beginning of the end; and you two have a front-row seat.

A knock on the door of Asuka's apartment drew her to the entrance, where she looked cautiously out through the peephole. Standing outside in the hallway, dressed in combat uniforms and armed with identical Duel Discs, Kenzan and O'Brien stood at attention, not issuing a word until Asuka opened the door to address the two of them.

"Asuka-san," O'Brien declared formally and respectfully, Kenzan remaining silent and both remaining at attention. Since the incidents several moths prior, the two of them had co-founded a private military-style private investigation business; the two of them were only available for high-profile case. Showing their training, both of them remained statue-firm until Asuka said calmly to both of them,

"At ease, you two." With these words, the two men relaxed into regular poses before Asuka told them, "Please, come in." Once the two of them had entered into the apartment, she immediately asked, "What are you two doing here exactly?"

"Hell Kaiser was requested that we bring you down to the hospital-don," Kenzan told her, causing her eyes to go wide.

"What? But… the hospital never called to tell me he was awake," she protested, causing O'Brien to speak next in clarification.

"The hospital was overtaken earlier by a wave of energy-based automatons known as X-Units," he revealed. "Hell Kaiser was essentially the only one to not be consumed by their wrath. Yliaster is responsible for this; and now, he needs our help to save the place."

"The threat has yet to be neutralized?" she questioned, knowing such a loose end to be uncharacteristic of her husband. "How can that be?"

"There are far too many X-Units to take down by himself-don," Kenzan added to the explanation. "Also, Yliaster's latest project, the Circuit, seems to have reached a deadly-climax-saurus. Look for yourself-don." Pointing out the rear-window, Asuka's face twisted into horror at the green glow floating over the city, the electricity from it arcing downwards. Seconds later, the light in the room flickered before the bulb actually exploded; before Asuka could be harmed, though, Kenzan pulled her behind him and shielded her.

"There's no time to waste, Asuka-san," O'Brien issued, Asuka nodding and flicking out the light in the room before all three stepped back out into the hallway. As she locked the door, the three of then made a quick run to the elevator, where they got in quickly and filed in line before it closed.

"It's no co-incidence that I have the ability to seemingly move through time and space," Paradox told his three onlookers, his expression miserable and lamenting. "The last project I worked on with my people was an experiment in alchemy that solved a problem physics deemed unsolvable; the ability to pass between times."

"Worked on with your people?" Yusuriha questioned. "You're lying. You just said that you're the last of your kind; so how can you have had people with whom to work?"

"I did not start out as the final human being," Paradox issued to her. "My world existed long after this one; I'm unsure of how far, but it is several millennia after the here and now. At that time, my people were reaping the benefits of advanced technology and an unparalleled understanding of Alchemy to anything you could possibly grasp."

"Sounds like an ideal world," Taiyou surmised. "Why exactly did you need to come back in time then?"

"Because humans are so unstable that even power designed for stability becomes a weapon to them," Paradox hissed coldly. "My world became ravaged by war, destruction and violence; humans used the power of Momentum and Duel Monsters for their own power, and when that failed they resorted to the power of weapons and biological warfare.

"The world became ravaged by scars that time could not erase. Once fertile lands were reduced to sandy, barren wastelands by radiation. Cities crumbled into their own footprints, before being overgrown by jungle and inhabited by feral beasts. Lakes dried into crusts, and the polar ice melted to flood the coasts of the planet.

"But quite possibly the worst event in this aftermath was the virus. As part of the war, one which lasted so long that almost all ammunition was expended, a virus had been developed that could kill humans in days, then would die when its host did. In theory, a perfect weapon, malice as it was; but sadly, they never counted on the virus having an incubation period of many weeks, nor that it could be spread by non-humans.

"The entire worlds' governments had collapsed, leaving the 10 million remaining humans of a previous 10 billion under the charge of the only remaining power; the Signers. Originally, I bore the mark of the tail, as Fudo Yusei once did; but as the other Signers succumbed to old age and died. Nobody other than myself remained who was chosen by the Crimson Dragon.

"You three could not possibly comprehend the pain I endured. I watched my family, my wife, my daughter and finally my two sons die before my eyes from the virus, their brains and blood boiling while their internal oranges turned to mush." Tears began to stream down Paradox's cheeks as he recalled the deaths of his family, which brought a look of sadness even to the eyes of the onlookers.

"I was cursed by the very powers I once cherished. My marks saved me from death; but I would rather have died with my family, so that I could see them again in heaven. Instead, the actions I have been forced into taking have died my soul black. I can only ever be cast into hell, to burn while my family waits forever in turmoil awaiting me."

"What exactly are you trying to accomplish, Paradox?" Kyojo questioned, finally standing straight due to the pain in his shoulder having finally relented. "Coming back in time, converting power… what will it all amount to?"

"I have realized by now the problems that have been created by the power of humankind, and by humankind alone," Paradox answered dogmatically, his glaring eyes piercing into the minds of the three people standing before him. "The Gods will do nothing to help us now, for They have forsaken us. No; it is upon our very selves to correct the problem that has been created."

"Humankind… we have nothing to gain if there is not sacrifice," Taiyou responded to him. "The logic that you operate under is based on this very principle, is it not? Without price, there is no profit."

"With humans, there will be no peace," Paradox refuted coldly, the hatred now very prominent in his voice. "Since the beginning of their existence humans have been cursed with the greed, malice and all-consuming ignorance that has plagued this world. These forces destroyed my homeland; but no matter what I changed, no matter what actions I took to change that darkened outcome, there is an inescapable future as long as humans exist. There is only one way out left."

"No… you can't…" Yusuriha said softly, trying to reason with the man before he did something everyone would regret. "Think of the pain you'd cause… would your family want you to take such cold actions?" Growing far more enraged with this comment, Paradox snapped his fingers and Kyojo's body burst into black flames, causing the man to scream out in misery. Slowly, as though moved by some unseen force, the screaming body of the man walked over to Paradox, where it simply collapsed at his feet.

"You dare to make mention of my family to me?" he hissed, his body suddenly absorbing the black flames from Kyojo's lifeless form and converting them into an aura of pure blankness. "If my family never exists, they will never feel any pain; and then I will never have known them, so neither will I. The only ones who will suffer are the corrupt and loathing human beings that live here, and there are none that deserve it more."

"How can you be so inhumane?" Taiyou questioned accusingly, his own steely glare filled with suppressed rage. "You believe not only that all humans are evil, but that they all deserve to suffer; and not only that, you also believe the ones who came later do not even deserve to exist? What does that make you? Why do you get to live?"

"Who said I get to live?" Paradox asked in a frigid tone, startling both Taiyou and Yusuriha with these fearsome words. "I have been forsaken in His eyes, and have lost everything I once had… what more reason do I have to live? Even with my immortal soul as forfeit, I'd sooner lose my existence that become part of that miserable cycle of vengeance. Hell is nothing compared to this twisted earthen prison."

Looking down at Kyojo with his glowing eyes, a card slid from the man's Duel Disc and up into Paradox's hands, where the black aura consumed it as well. "Come to me: Sin Trident Dragion!" With the card held in his fully-extended arm, Paradox produced a twisting column of black flames that wrapped around the Momentum and culminated behind him; from these came the form of Kyojo's dragon, but with metallic black wings, a white, a black ad a mixed mask for its three faces, and a golden yellow glow in its eyes.

"May the three of you perish here in peace," Paradox told the two remaining Summoners, just before the Dragon opened all three of its jaws and let forth a blast of scarlet flames at Taiyou and Yusuriha. Thinking quickly, the former of the two reached into his own Deck and held his own card up, producing a veil of white light.

"Come to me, Stardust!" With this command, the form of the white Dragon appeared from the light, firing its crimson weapon back through the flames and forcing them to disperse. These then struck the sides of the vast space, changing it into the purple radiating pattern of Paradox's Field Magic. "Paradox! As long as I continue to exist, then I cannot allow you to continue with this plan! There must be some other way around this; and if you let me, maybe I can help you solve this!"

"You don't think I'd first exhaust every option before attempting something this strongly affecting of history?" Paradox posed back, the two dragons snarling at each other. "What you can offer me is of no use to me; except for one thing…" Smiling darkly, Paradox then pulled out one of his black cards, slashing it through the air and causing a black burst of energy to strike Taiyou's dragon.

"No!" Taiyou screamed in terror, watching while the dragon simply disappeared from behind him in a warping of energy. Seconds later, a light rumble emanated and more blank energy changed into the form of the white Dragon; and more still came, changing its wings, its torso, its knees and its face into a twisted combination of black, grey and white metal. Eventually its eyes glowed scarlet through its mask, and the crimson lines on its body became the same purple glow as the field around them.

"Your dragon can serve me far better than you ever could," Paradox told him darkly, before the dragon opened its jaws and shot a pitch-black burst of energy straight towards Yusuriha. Taiyou was aggressively quick to act, jumping into the path of his dragon's blast; but the blast held sturdy for over thirty seconds, causing parts of Taiyou's body to dissolve into ectoplasm and his eventual fall onto his knees.

"Stop this now!" Yusuriha demanded of the blond man before her. "How many more lives are you going to wreck before you completely ruin this world? It wasn't bad enough that you attack my friends like this; now you seek to destroy them because they don't share your idiotic world view of…!" Before she could finish, another burst from the dragon struck her dead on, slamming her back into the wall with a scream while Taiyou's body finally pulled itself back together.

"Please… stop this…" Taiyou begged in his hoarse, beaten voice, standing up slowly with white ectoplasm still trailing from the side of his damaged face and empty left eye socket while his eye reformed. "Leave… my friends… alone… from here… If you want me gone… I'll be gone… after all, you've cost me just as much… as you yourself lost…"

"You have no understanding of loss," Paradox told him spitefully. "You think because a few of your comrades died in battle that you know my pain? I watched my entire world _rot from the inside out_… True loss is something almost nobody truly understands. It's so ironic; the one man who may know what I know is an agent of God."

"Placido…?" Taiyou questioned, knowing instinctively that it was the only plausible answer. "You and him… you told me that you were… commented to him through fate… what brought you two together…?"

"A force which I cannot explain," the blond man answered. "But what I ca explain to you, is that I owe you a debt of gratitude. Because of you, I finally have what I need to complete the puzzle." Once Taiyou's body was fully reformed, the look of terror and disgust on Taiyou's face became more obvious as Paradox added, "Have you ever heard of the Magnum Opus?"

"The great work in alchemy…" Taiyou recalled, thinking of the attempts that had been made of the process before. "It's the same principle… as is applied in chemistry…"

"I a sense," Paradox answered. "This is broken down into 4 stages. The first, Negredo, is the deconstruction, where all matter breaks down into its most basic form. Second comes Albedo, when the substance is refined to its purest form; or, in this case, when it changes its state into something more stable. Third, Citrinitas, allows the object to become solid again; it is the reformation. And last, Rubedo, is divine sublimation; the becoming of one with God."

"You… intend to become a God… in order to fix the decayed world of your future?" What kind of sick and twisted goal is that?"

"The one of a man who has no options left to speak of. If I cannot fix the past to save our world, then I shall start over again. The form of a loving, caring God can allow me to fix this mess we call a dimension. Even if I become a God of Death, then I will give new life to my dying planet; one way or another. The transmutation starts now."

Growling with this latest statement, the newer of the two dragons behind Paradox took flight, its long fan-like wings open while the three-headed beast below snarled and slowly deconstructed into orange light. "I now sacrifice Sin Trident Dragion, so that Sin Stardust Dragon can open the Gate of Truth!"

In a mere moment, the form of the entire three-headed dragon became a double-helix of energy, twisting up the extended tail of its brethren while the latter closed its wings and burst into the same glow. A moment later, the dragon's entire upper body and wings became the top of a gigantic stone gate with two iron doors. The form of the entire structure matched the colours of the metal on the dragon; and as the doors opened, the internal structure of the gate came into view.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph…" Taiyou issued at the sight before him, his eyes wide open behind his mask. Inside the thirty-foot-tall gate a swirling, ever-changing substance of the many colours of the rainbow, flowing like liquid metal, could be seen and heard, with the voices of many unseen beings emanating from it and speaking in many different, dead languages.

"This is the very gateway to the Gods themselves in Alchemic terms," Paradox explained. "With enough power, anything is possible through this gate; even the conjuring of spirits. Now, I sacrifice more of my mighty dragons, so that I may claim a link to my own future world!" Instantly ten cards from Paradox's Deck slid out from random places into the substance behind him; when all ten had entered, the shimmer of the material became a white glow that filled the entire archway.

"I'll see you again some day, Kenshi Taiyou," Paradox said warmly. "I enjoyed your presence and your courage. Perhaps some day you and I will meet again alive, perhaps dead; but we will meet again. Goodbye." With that Paradox jumped backwards into the open gateway behind him, disappearing into the white glow with absolutely no trace.

"Wait, no! Come back!" Taiyou yelled, still trying to press for more answers. Instead, he saw the white light ahead of him explode outwards in a violent shockwave, tearing through his semi-corporeal body and renting the ectoplasm apart into spread clusters of mist. From the open gateway, the sound of a dark, nightmarish voice laughing madly could be heard; and as the light faded, the gate dissolved away and the starry world disappeared to leave behind only the Old Momentum, the stone room, and the two unconscious Summoners who remained.

With all three D-Wheels positioned at the centre of the track, Placido, Yusei and Judai all looked forwards at the pathways ahead of them. Each had already pulled a five-card hand, and awaited the beginning of the duel with looks of strong emotion. Judai and Yusei showed neck-snapping tension, while Placido's look game him a smug air about him.

Then, with the autopilots finally synchronized with the new track, all three D-Wheels took off down the first of many winding pathways. With the shape of this twisting track way, there would be many turns, both gradual and hairpin; but the most dreaded thing for the two friends was the thought of what happened should they run out of time.

"_The last time Yusei and I duelled as a team," _Judai remembered,_ "we worked well together; and I already know from past experience that his cards can be mixed with mine. However, Placido is different from any opponent we've experienced before. His strategy perfectly counters Yusei's, and he most likely has provisions for myself and my cards. If we can win this at all, Yusei and I have to play in greater synchrony than ever."_

"_Judai," _Yusei simultaneously reflected,_ "since that last duel we had together, you and I have both grown. I have learned to face my fear of the Machine Emperor, and you have improved your skills as a Riding Duellist. Though our duelling styles are different, we think alike; and that's why I know that we will win. We have no choice..."_

Yusei: LP 4000

Judai: LP 4000

Placido: LP 4000

"The time has come for you to realize the power of the Machine Emperors in their greatest form," Placido told his two opponents, sneering as he reached for his Deck. "I'll take the first turn. I draw!" Snapping out his arm with a card in it out to its full length, he gazed upon it briefly and then placed it into his hand. Then, he grabbed yet another card and put it into play.

"I Summon Wise Core (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" In a few seconds, a white shower of sparks produced the form of the white-egg-like machine before it split open, revealing the internal green orb. "Next, I send this monster to the Cemetery and Special Summon Wise Core 3 (ATK: 0, LV: 3)!" With a passing flash, a green light transformed the white egg-like machine into its open, rounded cube-like form, giving it a larger and more powerful-looking body.

"Finally, I send this monster to the Cemetery, and Special Summon its greatest form: Wisel Core 5 (ATK: 0, LV: 5)!" With the cube-like structure dissolving around the green orb, it created a cobweb-like metal construct resembling the God-like machine from the other world; then, the green core began to let off a pulsating glow. "Now, I set 3 cards and end my turn." Reaching for the last 3 cards in his hand, he placed them into slots on the tray, all of them appearing before completely fading out.

"_That monster's level means it must summon Level 5 Wisel parts,"_ Yusei realized instantly. _"If I destroy it by an effect, then that will set off its own effect; so I have to go on the offensive, and take it out by battle."_ "It's my turn (Yusei: 1 SPC/Judai: 1 SPC/Placido: 1 SPC), and I summon Massive Warrior (ATK: 600, LV: 2)!"

As soon as he placed the card onto the tray, it summoned up his classic rock warrior with 4 arms and legs, holding its helicopter pad. _"That monster causes Yusei no damage when it battles, and is strong enough to defeat Placido's monster,"_ Judai realized in an instant. _"But somehow, I just know that Placido has accounted for this."_

"What an impressive showing of cojones," Placido responded snidely "but sadly for you that move was as predictable as sunrise and sun fall. Trap Card Open: Core Reactor! When my opponent summons a Monster, I destroy one Core I control and recover life equal to its Level times 500 points."

"No!" Yusei yelled in complete shock, watching as the metal structure around the core dissolved into green energy, flooding into Placido's body and increasing his life. Then, the form of the glowing green core rose high into the air, and a red veil of binary code formed around Placido's body. "What are you…?"

Releasing the two throttles of his D-Wheel, Placido took up a full standing stance on his D-Wheel, causing its form to become covered in the same circuit pattern as surrounded his eye. Then, with a quick jump, Placido jumped high into the sky, reaching for his sword and drawing it to point it up high. When he did, it and his lower left arm burst into red light; and in a split second, they took on a fused form, with a blade and hilt-like tray sticking out from the forearm, a Deck above the wrist.

Seconds later, the helmet around Placido's heat completely shattered into red energy, being absorbed by his body while his iris burst into a red light, drowning out his pupil completely. His feet then extended down by 90 degrees, becoming straight to his legs; and then his shins split vertically into front and back halves, extending up on rigid tubes and creating two adapters below his knees.

"My God…" Judai gasped out, watching the two throttles arms fold away into the main console of the D-Wheel. Moments later, it opened up and folded upwards, contorting to form a podium-like platform, two plugs to fit the adapters forming where the pedals would have been. Placido's legs themselves extended out about a foot on tubes at the hips, meeting these forms evenly; and then his legs fell onto the ports, fitting in place and his legs closing around them to fuse into the D-Wheel.

After that, pieces of plate metal formed from red energy around his legs, forming a complete platform below his waist so that he stuck out from behind the podium. In a grotesque follower, Placido began to writhe and grunt inhumanly as wires snaked up from the platform through his flesh, causing glowing green hydraulic fluid to seethe from the holes created. With these burrowing through his form, the fluid leaked as well from Placido's mouth, as though he were bleeding to death; and accompanying that was a twisted, horrifying sound, something neither Judai nor Yusei could place.

Eventually, the seeping of fluid stopped as Placido's wire-filled body became more stable, the lines now visible below his artificial skin like veins. His eyes were now lifeless-looking; but the expression on his face showed that he was still whole, and very much functioning. Finally, four hydraulic tubes from the platform appeared, snaking up and injecting 5-pronged heads into his body; two into his upper back, one into each shoulder.

"When Wise Core 5 is destroyed by a card effect," Placido added, his tone now more forceful, more pained and growing metallic, "I destroy every single monster I control; and then I Special Summon from my hand, Deck or Cemetery one copy each of Wisel Top 5 (ATK: 1100, LV: 5), Wisel Attack 5 (ATK: 2000, LV: 5), Wisel Guard 5 (DEF: 2800, LV: 5), Wisel Carrier 5 (ATK: 1400, LV: 5) and Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity (ATK: 0, LV: 1)."

With that, the glowing green light finally burst into action, producing 5 white machine pieces one after another. First appeared a long, lizard-like monster, which folded its legs and front body into a long, tube-like head and its tail into long shoulder pads. Next, a large, grasshopper-like machine came into view, its front 4 legs and lead withdrawing and its back legs contorting into large-hipped, long bending legs with long grey feet, hips attached to the centre by tubes.

Third, a large monster much like a Hercules beetle came into view, its head becoming a hand, and its horns, front two legs and antennae forming 5 long claws while the rest of its body became a powerful left arm. After that, an armadillo-like monster appeared, the back half of its body forming an upper arm and its front half a shielded lower right arm, hand behind the body.

Finally, the centric piece came into view, opening its chest and drawing in the pieces. The right arm attached and then shot out a large green light structure, four smaller ones appearing around it like horns. This was then joined by the left arm, followed by a pair of legs and lower torso. Finally, the head attached into place on a tube-like neck, and the shoulder pads attached above the Infinity symbol to complete the look as the hold monster let out a mechanical grunt (ATK: 4500, LV: 1).

"A 4500 point monster in a single turn?" Judai questioned, a look of disbelief forming over his and Yusei's faces. "With that kind of attack power, we have no offensive ability against it unless we can pull a miracle."

"There will be no miracles this time," Placido informed him, his dark expression causing Judai some distrust. "Thanks to the effects of my Wisel Pieces, you are done for this time. You see, thanks to Wisel Top 5, my opponent is now limited to one Magic or Trap Card per turn."

"What?" Yusei yelled in complete shock, now realizing the huge mess that Judai and he had brought upon themselves. _"Judai's Deck requires multiple card combinations to win, and mine needs them almost as much; without that ability, there's nothing left to do. Judai and I may as well be playing a Deck with no monsters in it now..."_

"You may as well give in and admit defeat. After all, if you surrender now, I can spare you in my new world order." Looking at both of his startled and frustrated opponents smugly, Placido let out a laugh of total supremacy, watching while the green electricity of the Momentum fired down upon the town below…

All at once, Paradox forced his eyes to open back up to the world that now lay before him, hoping that he would see the place he had come to know as home. Memories flooded back to him in the form of smiling faces, gentle breezes and clean, fresh air. No longer would he see the total urban decay of his ruined future, the death and decay that it held before.

But it was not so. Opening his eyes on the world that now stood before him, total shock came into his mind. His world had not been improved by the actions he had taken in the past; it had degenerated, and become fouler than ever. The entire barren, desert-like landscape was shrouded in blackness, preventing the light of the sun from illuminating the world around him.

Hatred and frustration welled up in the back of his mind. Everything he had done was according to plan. The steps he had taken in the past, amassing energy so that he could assemble the fruits of his plan; and after it all, his world was now nothing more than a dissolving black cloud, darker than his own heart.

Gazing upon the mesas and broken-down buildings of his own world, Paradox's eyes looked upon the most grotesque sight of them all. Pieces of matter were simply breaking off from the main body of the structures, dematerializing them into floating dust and leaving behind an eaten pattern in the matter.

How could this have happened?" he questioned to himself, sinking to his knees while tears formed in the corners of his eyes. His spirit crushed and his body pushed to exhaustion from his time travelling, he lamented how his world had continued to dissolve into the nothingness he had tried to save it from.

"_Is it not obvious?"_ the voice of Placido asked of him, bringing the man to look over his shoulder and snarl at the image. There, the ghostly form of Placido stood glaring down condescendingly, his arms crossed and his eye looking down darkly. _"I tried to warm you of the dangers of tampering with time; but you chose not to listen to me."_

"Shut up," Paradox growled, standing up and turning around to face the pale, grey-haired android behind him. "You know nothing of the pain I've endured; do not _ever_ try and tell me what I've done wrong. Somebody like you, Placido; you have no sense of morality or nobility." His face changing to a deranged grin, he then added, "Were the lives of your crew worth serving a misanthropic deity for eternity?"

"I could ask you the very same question," Placido asked, his face turning away while he let his arms fall limp. With his head tiled down and his tone sombre, he closed his eye and asked, "After losing everybody in your life for your own gains, your incessant martyr act has become tiresome."

"My own gains?" Paradox questioned angrily, his grin falling back away into an angry expression. "I lost everybody I cared about because of the sins of humanity; sins which your God let them commit. You _dare_ to point the finger at me after your involvement in this loss?"

Turning his face into a sneer, Placido turned to face Paradox with his eye open again, his circuit-like scar lighting p and causing his eye piece to crack. "You're still clueless aren't you? Remember what you told me when we first met centuries ago, Paradox? That you and I were to be linked for the rest of our existence? Well, you were right; but not for the reason you thought."

"What are you talking about?" Paradox questioned, only for Placido's eye piece to completely crack up and fall away. Paradox was stunned beyond words, his jaw dropping open and his body involuntarily stepping back from the sight; underneath that patch, Placido's mechanical features that normally showed were human; and around his red eye, a long grey eyebrow circled around and extended around onto his cheek, almost identical to Paradox's.

"You're… no…" Paradox gasped, the implications falling upon him with the weight of an entire building. Looking at Placido's lifeless eyes, those mechanical things which he dared pass off as human features; to see something which so much resembled him was not only terrifying, but insulting. "You… you cannot be me!"

"Of course I cannot be you," Placido answered in a voice that was not his own, nor that of the God Paradox knew as Zone. "Because who are you, Paradox? Your name is but an enigma, a mask to hide your identity; your own persona is lost to the ravages of time and your own mind. I know who I am, who I was, and who I will be; but you have no identity, and no sense of self."

"I am… I am…" Paradox stammered, before Placido simply chuckled at him and disappeared into a burst of green light, dissolving into particles. Though Placido was now gone, the laughing did not disappear from his mind; in fact, it intensified, echoing in his psyche. By the time it truly died out, Paradox felt an ironic sense of loneliness; after what he had done, as much as he hated Placido, their relationship was what made him whole.

"I've lost… everything…" he gasped, looking up to the starless sky eclipsed in blackness. Why had karma been so unfair to him? He had been reduced to nothing by the very world he had tried to save, and he had no idea why. What forces did he need to fight? Where were the demons that plagued him?

"_For a man of science, you are truly ignorant of the truth," _Placido's voice told him again. _"You've never found the proof of those who harmed your world, even though you know what has happened. You know people destroyed your world for a very different reason. You wish to find the demons? Look no further than yourself."_

"You… lie…" Paradox could not take the implication that was being made. How could it be true? How could Paradox be the one to have caused so much pain and anguish to the ones he loved? What was true anymore, now that he suspected this? No – there's no way it could be true. Paradox could not be the one to have done this.

"_Power is a very malicious thing, Paradox. It taints people who otherwise would be morally straight and true, and leaves them doing things they would not recognize. Think of your Sin Monsters; they represent humanity's suffering and evil. That evil is stained on your hands. Paradox, the very demon you seek; you are that demon. You killed your own world; then you tried to destroy it and bury that memory."_

Once again the tears fell from Paradox's eyes, seeping and trickling down his cheeks until they fell into pools; but this time, he could feel that they were thicker and stronger. Looking down upon his face, he saw redness seeping from his eyes, soaking his cheeks. Tears of blood coursed down his face. Was it truly too late for him now? Would he be claimed, at last, by the virus; and then, could he finally rest?

"_Truth is relative; and with it, so too is existence. Paradox, you never saw the remains of your city, and you never saw how it fell apart. So what do you know? The pain and suffering that occurred here; what was there before it? What do you remember from before the cataclysm?"_

Searching his own mind, looking as hard as he could, Paradox searched his own memories for thoughts of life before everything went wrong. He knew what had happened, the events that had shaped his life; but he could not remember them. It was as though nothing had happened.

"_Now you finally understand, Paradox. You are not a saviour, a saint or a figurehead for this world. You were its undoing. You came upon this world is an act of malice, laid waste to hit, and left almost no survivors. Somewhere along the way, you forgot what you were; but now I'll show you your true self. The voice of your true desire."_

"Who… are you…?" Immediately after this question, Paradox saw the entire world around him fall into complete blackness, leaving only him standing in the void of his world. Draped in shadows, a figure then appeared before him; through a body folded up in a veil of wings, red eyes shone through, looking at Paradox glaringly.

Immediately after that, the body of the figure dissolved away and changed into floating orange energy, assembling in front of him again. This time, it took on the form of his armless dragon, the beast he had used upon Kyojo before; and now, it stared upon him and growled, leaving him draped with fear.

"_I will strip away the Paradox and show you truth..."_ Immediately, cracks began to form along the body of the dragon, letting little bits of light shine through them. Eventually, the whole thing simply gave way and it fell apart, leaving behind a flaming wall of energy much like a gigantic, massive-winged dragon with red eyes.

"_...and within this realization, I will reunite you with your inner Death God forever." _Rising up, the flames exploded outwards into a draping, massive form that completely wrapped its wings around paradox. With a body of crimson flames, the light given off gave a strange sheen that illuminated Paradox in redness.

"This… can't be real…" Paradox gasped, his eyes going completely blank as he stared up at the wall of redness. Two black holes like eyes glared back at him, unnervingly so, and burning into his soul a total feeling of terror. Paradox had never seen something like this before; and it scared him to death. "Get out of my mind Placido! Leave me alone!"

"_I can never do that, Paradox,"_ the voice told him, the burning wall changing to a more indistinct shape before finally dissolving. _"For you see, it's impossible for me to leave you. You and I are forever one. Placido and Paradox do not exist; but you exist, and your mind has created this world. Bring it to life."_

His eyes opening wider than he had ever dome before, Paradox let out a blood-curdling scream of terror…

**Card of the Chapter – Paradox**

**Sin Stardust Dragon**

**Type:** DARK

**Level:** 8

**Family:** [Dragon/Effect]

**Effect:** This card cannot be Normal Summoned or set. This card cannot be Special Summoned other than by removing from play 1 "Stardust Dragon" from your Extra Deck. There can only be 1 "Sin" Monster face-up on the field. Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. If there is no face-up Field Magic Card, this card is destroyed. Field Magic Cards on the field cannot be destroyed.

**ATK/** 2500

**DEF/** 2000

*Two chapters left until the Tenth Anniversary fanfic. Review if you wish.*


	39. The Ultimate Wisel

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Chapter**** 39 – The Ultimate Wisel vs. Dragoequites**

"What a twisted and sinister form for someone like Placido to take," Alessandro observed, actually looking upon their cohort upon their monitor with a look of disdain and disgust. "Why would he do such a thing?"

"That is the form which God has imbued him with for this battle," Lucciano deduced. "Poor, poor Placido; he's become so much a pawn in his own chess game that he even lets his body become a vessel for the Great God."

"This is the role Placido was born to fill," Jose responded to both of them. "Alessandro, Lucciano, I have known Placido for much longer than either of you; and I know that he wants, above all else, to repay God for being chosen to live on like this. Were he to abandon his duties short of anything, he could never forgive himself."

"Well, if he loses this duel to the two of them," Alessandro summarized, "God will never forgive him anyway. Especially if Placido is destroyed completely; which, considering their track record, is rather likely. Perhaps El Capitán has finally bitten off more than he can chew."

"Only time will tell now…" Lucciano concluded, not wanting to think about said consequences but also knowing what would happen if they came to pass.

With complete looks of disgust and terror upon their faces, both Judai and Yusei looked upon their opponent with wide, unbelieving eyes and paled, sickened expressions. Both of them had seen some rather disturbing sights before, but they all paled before the nightmarish form that Placido had just taken on.

The tubes jutting from the platform Placido's legs were fused into had embedded themselves in his upper back and shoulders, green circuit board patterns marking the point of contact and spreading out like cracks. His legs were completely lost in the metal housing that surrounded them, giving him the appearance of a mechanical centaur. As the journey ventured forward along the near-complete circuit, high above Neo Domino City and the Satellite, they began to wonder what they had truly stumbled upon.

With a rather sickening, repulsive sound of flesh, fluids and other strange noises, Placido's entire torso began to spin around counter-clockwise, stopping only once it was around 180 degrees. The end result was Placido's sneering, confident face, glowing eyes and all, staring back upon the two eye-to-eye with his D-Wheel still shooting forward.

"Now I shall make the both of you rue standing in my path," he told them darkly, his voice having become metallic and distorted. "I activate my Trap Card, Wise Fortune!" As the card suddenly spun around into view on his own right he explained, "When a Wise or Wisel Monster is summoned, this card sends my hand to the Graveyard." As he said this, however, he flexed his left hand open from a clenched fist, reminding them that his hand was at 0.

"Next, for every face-up Wisel or Wise Monster I control, I draw 1 card. And, as you well know, Machine Emperor Wisel 5 (ATK: 4500) is comprised of 5 monsters. Therefore, I reclaim a full new hand." Reaching for the Deck now jutting forward like a Duel Disc from his arm, he snapped up 5 cards in a single motion, handing them to his left side while Yusei turned his attention to his own hand.

"I place 1 card face-down and end my turn." Once the single card from his hand had been taken and placed into a slot, he looked up at the gigantic machine hovering over Placido's form, and donned a look of frustration and anguish. _"I have nothing at the moment to stand up to that thing; I just hope Judai can offer some sort of countermeasure."_

"It's my turn (Yusei: 2 SPC/Judai: 2 SPC/Placido: 2 SPC)," Placido then issued, snapping up yet a sixth card from his Deck. A Second later, he pointed his right hand, still clutching the card at a downward angle, towards Yusei and declared, "I attack Massive Warrior (ATK: 600, LV: 2) with Wisel!" Responding, jets on the rear of the gigantic machine's body ignited, shooting to straight towards the opposing monster with lightning speed.

When it was just above the foe, its entire left arm below the elbow, including its 5 imposing blades, burst into a brilliant green glow and swung itself down at the monster directly in front of it. The multi-limbed stone monster then moved its helicopter pad shield directly into the path of the arm; as a result, this was shattered completely and exploded, but the monster itself was left unharmed.

"You should know by now Placido," Yusei criticized his opponent, holding up the card while he described its effect. "Massive Warrior reduces all Battle Damage towards its controller to Zero; and in addition, it cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn."

"Oh, I was well aware of that Yusei," Placido responded, "which is why I still have one set card left. I activate the Permanent Trap Battle Return, and equip it to Wisel!" Suddenly and with glaring impact to Yusei, the form of the Trap Card from his Duel with Ghost appeared on Placido's left, before disappearing and changing into a white glow around the machine monster.

"With this, I can once per turn halve my monster's ATK (ATK: 2250) in order to have it make up for a battle where no monster was destroyed. Go, Wisel! Smash that monster to pieces!" Once again, the form of the glowing arm came straight at the monster; this time though, it shot through the chest of the monster, exploding it into granulated rubble. And after that, the arm struck Yusei's D-Wheel with a loud thud, making a small explosion and causing Yusei to shake on his footing.

"Yusei! Are you alright?" Judai asked in concern before turning his attention back to Placido. "What did you do? I'm guessing there are more effects to that monster than you let on."

"Very perceptive Judai," Placido responded. "Wisel Attack 5 gives Penetration Damage to the opponent, as well as Effect Damage equal to the ATK of a Monster that an Infinity Monster destroyed in battle. Therefore, Yusei received Massive Warrior's 600 Points of Damage.

Yusei: LP 3400

Judai: LP 4000

Placido: LP 6500

"Now that your wall of a monster is gone, your Life Points are next. I place 4 cards face-down and end my turn." Taking all but two of the cards in his hand, Placido filled the rest of his Magic and Trap Card Slots, leaving him a field literally filled with cards as his monster returned to its spot floating above him.

"It's my turn!" Judai yelled, reaching for his Deck and snapping one card up. "I draw (Yusei: 3 SPC/Judai: 3 SPC/Placido: 3 SPC), and I summon E-HERO Another Neos (ATK: 1900, LV: 4)!" Once the card was on the tray, it generated the form of a human-looking white warrior, almost a miniature of Judai's usual ace monster; and it took up a similar battle-read stance, with Judai ready to follow up.

"Once I destroy that Wisel Top 5, our Magic and Trap Cards will be unrestricted again," Judai realized. "Go, Another Neos! Attack Wisel Top 5!" The monster then jumped forward and up into the air towards the head of the gigantic white machine; but as soon as this occurred, the right arm of the monster blocked with its irregular-shaped shield, sending the monster flying back and a shockwave straight into Judai.

Yusei: LP 3400

Judai: LP 3100

Placido: LP 6500

"Wisel Guard Monsters have the ability to change attack targets to themselves," Yusei revealed, taking to Judai. "With such high DEF, there's going to be recoil damage from a reckless attack like that."

"And you're just now telling me this why?" Judai questioned, more than a little frustrated that his move was so easily countered. "Oh well; we'll still figure out a way to topple that monster. I set one card and end my turn."

"With this your combined Life Points are equal to mine," Placido reminded them. "You'll have to create a miracle to overcome my power; but with God on my side, that will not happen. I draw (Yusei: 4 SPC/Judai: 4 SPC/Placido: 4 SPC), and I attack Neos with my Wisel 5! Go!" Once again the monster jumped forwards and shot straight at the monster; but before it was within range, Judai flipped up a set card.

"Counter Trap: Attack Nullification!" Instantly the card appeared on a slanted plane in front of the monster, creating a vortex that absorbed the downward force of the swinging arm and simply reflected the monster away. "And don't even think about using the effect of Battle Return, seeing as the Battle Phase is over."

"That may be," Placido sneered. "But that's your one Trap Card for the turn. At least you made good use of it."

"And what about you?" Judai replied snidely. "Since you filled up all your Zones, you can't even play 1 card."

"Don't be insolent to me," Placido warned. "Or you'll be the first one I erase. Make your move, Yusei; and make it count."

"I intend to," Yusei told him. "It's my turn (Yusei: 5 SPC/Judai: 5 SPC/Placido: 5 SPC)," he revealed, snapping a card from his Deck all the way out before spinning it around. "I Summon Turbo Synchron (ATK: 100, LV: 1)." In an instant, the form of a small buggy-like green robot appeared on Yusei's field, angled downwards as it showed its its readiness for battle.

"This next Monster," Yusei declared, holding up the back of a card, "Can be Special Summoned during the turn I have Normal Summoned a Monster. Come, One-Shot Booster (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" In an instant a new monster appeared; one whose body consisted of a yellow base with two long, booster-like arms and a top-like needle of a base.

"Get ready, Placido! I Tune my Level 1 Turbo Synchron to my Level 1 One-Shot Booster and Judai's Level 4 Another Neos!" Lowering a black screen over its eyes, the small monster transformed into a single green ring. The other two monsters then jumped through this, being reduced to glowing yellow outlines with 1 and 4 stars respectively. These stars then broke away and re-entered the rings as a 5-orb row, eventually fusing into a column of light.

"The clustering bonds will weave a greater force! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Roar engines, Turbo Warrior (ATK: 2500, LV: 6)!" Arriving out from the light, the new monster took form; a red robot which resembled the body of a truck, with long booster-like legs, long taloned hands, and a head with a large, metal pompadour. Said Monster's eyes then lit up in a rapid fashion before the monster eventually took up a battle stance; at which time Placido's sneer turned into one of hateful arrogance.

"A mere Synchro Monster dares to appear before my Ultimate Machine Emperor?" he questioned, his voice dripping with venomous animosity as he looked at said monster. "I shall enjoy offering it as my sacrifice; and that shall be the case on my next turn. Your foolishness is a mere waste of my time."

"Before you start condescendingly picking apart my move Placido," Yusei responded strongly, "I shall remind you that I still have one Magic or Trap Card this turn. I activate Speed Spell – Speed Energy! With that, until this End Phase, my monster will gain 1000 ATK, 200 for each of my 5 Speed Counters (ATK: 3500)!"

"How utterly useless," Placido commented, sneering while he bared his teeth at Yusei. "But if you think I'm being simple, then show me what you're planning!"

"Sadly for you, Turbo Warrior cannot be targeted by a Level 6 or lower Monster; Wisel Infinity is Level 1 and its limbs and head Level 5! Thus, Wisel Guard 5 cannot target it to absorb the attack! Battle! I attack Wisel Top 5 with Turbo Warrior! Dash Claw!" Lighting 6the rockets making up its feet, said monster immediately shot forwards at the opposing monster's head; but once again, to Yusei's dismay, the right arm of the monster shot into the path of the monster, deflecting the shot instantly. "What the…?"

"You're an utterly hopeless case, Yusei," Placido declared harshly, his face twisting to create a series of veins that gave him an utterly insane appearance. "I knew after your experiences with Wisel that you would try and use a monster like Turbo Warrior, which my effects cannot target. Sadly, my moves are still high above you. Wisel Guard 5's effect is that no other monster I control may be targeted for an attack; and in addition, it can never be destroyed by battle!"

"IT WHAT?" Yusei yelled in complete and utter disbelief, his voice actually reaching the rare point of yelling. Falling back silent with a panting, gasping demeanour, he looked down and punched the top of his Duel Disc, stammering, "You mean to tell me that… that you planned for my entire strategy… How can that be…?"

"How high and mighty you truly sound," Placido responded, crossing his arms. "You believe because you're a Genius Style Duellist, or because you won the Fortune Cup Arc, or because you defeated my pawn Godwin, that you can overcome any obstacle in your oath. You're more arrogant than the people you claim to be above; and now that you've attained this echelon, you believe that by mere presence you can defeat anything."

"Stop with this bullshit!" Judai yelled, his face becoming rather infuriated as his tone became even harsher than Placido's. "Yusei, the two of us have everything to lose right now! We don't have time to spend screwing around; if we lose here, there is no second chance! You and I have both overcome some of the greatest opponent imaginable; now pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and we'll kick his ass!"

"It's not that simply Judai," Yusei responded, not noticing the tremor in his voice. "The Machine Emperor, Placido's Deck… they've been designed to completely override me! You have such an air of confidence; and you can afford to be, because you've never been stuck in this kind of mess. If I can't find a way to…"

"Just shut the fuck up and listen for a second!" Judai completely spat at Yusei, actually making Yusei shake as Judai's eyes began to glow in the green and orange tones of Yubel. "This guy's Deck isn't the problem; the problem is that you're going at this alone. People call me the Lone Wolf, but you insist on fighting by yourself and that's costing you! You and I are both here; and as long as I'm in this duel, I won't let you lose!"

"But… I…"

"No buts from this point forward," Judai sternly told him. "Put that shaky tone aside and go at him full force. I'm right behind you, so there's nothing to fear. You have legs; now get the fuck up and you them, and never look back!"

Turning back to face Paradox, Yusei closed his eyes for a second, before flashing his eyes open into a stern glare. "Placido, start counting your turns! I set one card and end my turn!" Once the card had been placed into his tray, Yusei thought in a more confident tone, _"Judai's right; as long as he and I fight together, we can take this guy down. We _have_ to take this guy down!"_

"Let's go!" Placido yelled, unfolding his arms and reaching for his Deck to grab a card. "Draw (Yusei: 6 SPC/Judai: 6 SPC/Placido: 6 SPC)!" Pointing at Yusei's monster with the card in his hand he issued, "Thanks for pointing out that I cannot absorb your monster; I'll simply destroy it instead! Battle! I attack Turbo Warrior with Wisel! Take this!"

"Trap Card Open!" Yusei shouted, before Placido's monster had even started to move. "I activate Synchro Barrier! I release my Synchro Monster, and until the next End Phase I take to Battle Damage!" As soon as this was said, the form of the monster vanished into the air, the monster above Placido simply stopped moving; but instead of being angry, Placido simply sneered at him.

"Except that said card is only good against Battle Damage," he issued, spinning his entire hand around with the hand holding his card. "I activate Speed World 2's effect; by removing 4 Speed Counters (Yusei: 6 SPC/Judai: 6 SPC/Placido: 2 SPC), I inflict 800 damage to you for every Speed Spell in my hand. And sadly for you, all three are Speed Spells!"

"Oh no!" Judai yelled, seeing the cards Speed Spell – The End of Storm, Speed Spell – Speed Energy and Speed Spell – Draw Accel in Placido's hand. As four of the six lights around Placido's eye piece died out he said to himself, "If Yusei can't negate this effect, then he'll…" A second later, his fear was realized when a laser beam fired from the eye piece on his face, going straight through Yusei's chest and causing him to scream out in pain. "Yusei!"

Yusei: LP 1000

Judai: LP 3100

Placido: LP 6500

"His Life Points are down to a mere ¼ of their original value," he realized, before looking towards the chuckling Placido and giving him a death glare. "I'm gonna make you fucking pay for that, you scrap-metal piece of shit!"

"I'd like to see you try, Judai," Placido told him. "I'd love to hit you next turn; but I don't think you're even worth that. Your monsters are far too weak to stop Wisel in this battle; so I'll just pound you into the ground instead!"

"I won't let you do that," Yusei yelled, Judai's eyes finally fading back to his own chocolate brown eyes. "Judai, if you're going to protect me, then I'll defend you as well!"

"Enough of this sickening friendship prattling. If I had a stomach right now, I'd be sick to it; as would all of our spectators. The Gods have no taste for these disgusting and miserably human bonds you so fool-hardily cherish. I'll enjoy making you suffer, breaking you to pieces and listening to you scream for mercy! Mercy you shall! Never! RECEIVE!" Stopping for a second, Placido gripped his hand to tightly his pseudo-skin tore; then, he spat, "Make your move!"

"Then allow me to show you how we do things where I come from," Judai told him. "It's my turn (Yusei: 7 SPC/Judai: 7 SPC/Placido: 3 SPC)!" Seeing a card in his hand that he had no use for at that time, he hissed before turning to his field and saying, "I too activate an effect of Speed World 2. I give up all 7 Speed Counters (Yusei: 7 SPC/Judai: 0 SPC/Placido: 3 SPC), I draw one more card!"

"Drawing extra cards already?" Placido questioned. "Your Deck wasn't built for Riding Duels, I guess." Reaching for his Deck, Judai closed his eyes before gripping onto the top card of his Deck. Then, with a sudden motion, he pulled it from his Deck before putting it into play and yelling, "I Summon Card Gunner (DEF: 400, LV: 3)!" In front of Judai then emerged the small, multi-coloured form of the treaded and cannon-armed robot, turning blue as it took up a crouching position.

"I activate the effect of my Monster," Judai revealed. "By sending my top 3 cards to the Cemetery, Card Gunner gains 1500 ATK (ATK: 1900). Taking the top 3 cards of his Deck and flipping them over one by one, he sent Necro Gardna, E-HERO Necro Darkman, and Neo-Spacian Black Panther to the Cemetery, before he reached into his own hand. "I shall now set one card and end my turn."

"_Judai's already sent Necro Gardna to the Cemetery," _Yusei noted._ "That means he can negate an opposing attack, and I can save my set card for later."_

"Prepare for slaughter," Placido stated snidely. "I draw (Yusei: 8 SPC/Judai: 1 SPC/Placido: 4 SPC)!" Taking the card from his hand and simply placing it into his other one, he pointed at Judai's crouching monster and yelled, "Go Wisel! Eliminate that piece of scrap metal from this field!" Shooting right back at the metal monster, the green glow returned to its arm as it prepared to swing it down through the monster.

"Yusei!" Judai yelled, getting the attention of his partner. "Activate that set card of yours now!"

"What?" Yusei asked, completely stunned by this move. "But, you… that Necro Gardna…"

"Now isn't the time to be selfish!" Judai yelled. "Do it now! Trust me; it'll work out for the best!" Looking at his own field, Yusei stared for a long, hard second before he finally reached for the console to press the button.

"I activate my Trap Card, Guard Block!" Instantly, the form of the Trap Card emerged in front of Yusei, then slid over in front of Judai as he reached for his Deck. "Thanks to this card, Judai takes to Damage; and now I get to draw one card!" Spanning up his item instantly, Yusei watched as the arm of Placido's monster sliced straight through the monster; then, much to Placido's chagrin, Judai's Life Points avoided damage entirely.

"That may be so," he answered, "but Effect Damage is still on the docket! Since Card Gunner has 400 ATK, Wisel Attack 5 can still hit Judai for that damage! Take this, you loud-mouthed punk!" Instantly the green energy from the arm completely discharged into Judai's D-Wheel and body, giving him a shock that made him grunt but not anything that caused him any real discomfort.

Yusei: LP 1000

Judai: LP 2700

Placido: LP 6500

"I activate the effect of my Card Gunner," Judai revealed. "Since it was destroyed, I get to draw one card!" Once said card was into his grasp, he pointed to his other card and yelled, "Next, I activate my Trap Card, Hero Signal!"

"Damn it," Placido spat. "They've realized that combined they can activate 2 Magic or Trap Cards per turn; and now they're combining cards." As he saw this, a card slid from Judai's Deck and he grabbed it, holding it up before placing it into the tray.

"Come on, Bubbleman (ATK: 800, LV: 4)!" In an instant Judai's field had upon it the form of his classic blue warrior, his cape flapping wildly in the wind as they shot by. "Now, since I have only Bubbleman on the field, I get to draw 2 cards!" Snapping up the two additional cards from his Deck, Judai placed all three of his draws into his hand tray; meanwhile, Yusei gave a smug smile to Judai, which he reciprocated to Placido's chagrin.

"We've outplayed you this time," Yusei told him. "Because you attack destroyed its target, you can't use Battle Return to attack Bubbleman as well! We get to keep our monster." Then, turning back to Judai, he added, "This is why you wanted me to use my Trap Card." When Judai gave a quick thumb's up, Yusei replied by doing the same and issuing back to Placido, "Good luck taking us out as a team."

"I end my turn!" Placido said, complete infurtiated. _"I could have damaged Judai further this turn; but with 3 Speed Spells in my hand, I can defeat Yusei in my next turn anyway. Without his partner, Judai will be alone and without the bonds that give him strength. Sorry boys, but your little card orgy is about to end prematurely."_

"I draw (Yusei: 9 SPC/Judai: 2 SPC/Placido: 5 SPC)!" Yusei yelled dramatically, adding his card to his hand with lightning reflexes before slapping his previous draw onto the tray. "I Summon Hyper Synchron (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)!" In an instant Yusei's monster took on its form; the blue elf-eared machine, with its rear power tanks and its paneled chest, made Judai smile ecstatically, as he knew that the next move would allow.

"I Tune my Level 4 Hyper Synchron to my Level 4 Bubbleman!" Opening its chest, the blue robot released 4 white orbs before the machine itself exploded; these orbs then became a set of three green rings. A Moment later, Judai's warrior jumped up into them and took on the form of 4 white orbs, before all 8 completely fused into a single, large white orb.

"The Clustering wishes will now become a new shining star. Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" The single white orb then exploded open into the glowing form of a white dragon, its long, outstretched wings encompassing both Yusei and Judai. Then, as the dust settled, Yusei's monster took on its full form.

"Due to Hyper Synchron, Stardust gains 800 ATK (ATK: 3300); but that doesn't concern me right now. From my hand I activate a Speed Spell you might remember: Speed Spell – Synchro Slip! I exclude Stardust until Judai's Standby Phase, and then I draw 2 cards! Then, by removing 7 SPC (Yusei: 2 SPC/Judai: 2 SPC/Placido: 5 SPC), I draw one more card."

As he reached for his Deck and pulled three new cards, the form of Yusei's dragon dissolved into the white dist particles; then, Yusei look down at his hand and decided on his next move.

"I set 2 cards and end my turn," he finally stated, looking at Judai silently. _"Judai, your Heroes are the perfect Levels for my Synchro Monsters; that's why I can duel with you. For you to duel with me, my Synchro Monsters need to work for your Fusion Strategy. Can you do that?"_

"Enough of this! I draw (Yusei: 3 SPC/Judai: 3 SPC/Placido: 6 SPC)!" Yusei yelled in an incredibly loud tone, pointing his card right at Yusei. "Time to take you apart! Machine Emperor Wisel, direct attack!" Energizing its arm, the monster pointed at Yusei and prepared for his attack; then, in a swift motion, the monster shot straight at Yusei, causing him to grunt out in frustration…

In the centre of the WRGP Practice Zone, a man in a Crusades-era archer's outfit stood leaning against his D-Wheel, their green cloak and hood obscuring his face. After the Diablo Incident and the attack of the above Circuit, they and their D-Wheel were badly injured; but knowing the perils others faced, they still considered themselves lucky.

Turning their head over to one side, the figure's gaze found him the form of a tanned, black-haired individual who was just propping himself up from the ground. "Are you alright, Marc?" the cloaked figure asked him in English while the tanned man brought himself fully to his feet, trying to steady himself completely.

"I've been through worse tumbles than that and you know it, Arynis," Marc responded in English as well, his face reflecting his attitude of toughness while he got himself steady. "And I see you managed to get yourself standing without so much as scuffing your little costume. You know, if you wore something more your style, people would stop mistaking you for a man."

"Just as mouthy as I remember you," Arynis responded, taking down his hood to reveal the face of a young woman; one which clearly defined her gender as female. Her long blonde hair was set in a braided ponytail and her eyes a deep gold. Then, her gaze shifted to a figure in the distance, who he suddenly started running towards; and knowing what such as action meant, Marc got himself turned around and shot over with the man.

About one block from where they had been, the two Riders brought themselves to the form of a glossy-haired brunette woman with long brown hair, whose white riding outfit was torn and bloody and whose visor was shattered. Bending down to check on her, Arynis looked at her with a concerned face and asked, "Allana, est-ce que tu es bien? S'il te plait, me réponds!"

Reaching around and flipping herself onto her back, the woman managed to face up to the man and woman, and opened her emerald green eyes. Propping herself up onto sitting position, she then completely stood up, Arynis holding her up, and she told her, "Oui, je serai bien."

"We can't just sit here and do nothing," Marc told them both, getting their attention instantly. "If what Judai said is true, then these people are all still in jeopardy; we have to do what we can." Realizing the truth in what he said, the two individuals turned to him and nodded, signifying that they were going to do something.

"Be gone, Fudo Yusei!" Placido sneered, his monster shooting straight at Yusei to completely do him in; but before he could, Yusei held up a card from his hand.

"When my opponent declared a Direct Attack, I can Special Summon Junk Defender from my hand (DEF: 1800, LV: 3)!" Before Yusei then appeared the crouching form of a monster much like a set of arms with a face for a chest; these arms crossed as Placido looked on smugly. "Next, due to its effect, it gains 300 DEF (DEF: 2100)!"

"But even so," Placido yelled, "the Penetration Damage from that attack means your demise! Go, Wisel!" Yusei then watched as the monster swung its arm straight down at his monster; but before that happened, he revealed yet another card.

"I activate my D-2 Shield!" he yelled, his monster being surrounded by a yellow aura. "Due to this, my monster's DEF doubles for this turn (DEF: 4200), thus saving my life!" An instant later, the full force of the blast came down upon Yusei and his monster, exploding it completely and causing Yusei to take yet another large hit of damage.

Yusei: LP 500

Judai: LP 2700

Placido: LP 6500

"I activate D-2 Shield's second effect," Yusei revealed, once again reaching for his Deck. "Since the affected monster was destroyed, I may now draw one card from my Deck!" Once said card as in his hand, he looked down upon it and realized that he was completely exposed; if Judai couldn't save him, he was done for.

"And now, I remove 4 more Speed Counters from Speed World 2 (Yusei: 3 SPC/Judai: 3 SPC/Placido: 2 SPC), and wipe out the last of your Life Points. Take this, you flash-in-the-pan duellist!" Once again 4 of the orbs on Placido's eye piece disappeared and a laser beam fired from the eye; but as that happened, a cloaked figure appeared in front of Yusei and absorbed the laser blast before exploding. "That was…"

"I activate the effect of Damage Veiler from my hand," Judai revealed, holding up said card. "When an effect is activated to inflict 2000 or more damage to a player, by discarding this card, I negate said effect. Then, the affected player draws 1 card for every 1000 points of damage negated. That means Yusei draws 2 cards!" Nodding, Yusei pulled 2 more cards and added them to his hand, Placido growling from his effect being stopped to easily.

"I activate my Trap Card: Wise Shot! When one of my effects is negated by the effect of an opponent's card, I inflict 400 damage to the player responsible for every Wise or Wisel Monster I control! Suffer 2000 points in damage, Judai!" Sneering, Placido fired yet another laser beam from his eye, this one going straight through Judai's chest and causing him to gasp for breath, clutching his chest in pain.

Yusei: LP 500

Judai: LP 700

Placido: LP 6500

"Look at the both of you," Placido sneered. "Less Life Points between the two of you than 20% of my own Life Points; and less Damage than I can inflict in a single turn. It's obvious who the victor will be; so both of you may as well throw your Decks away and surrender. That way, maybe you will be spared from this demise!"

"I'd sooner drop dead than admit defeat to a piece of shit like you," Judai hissed. "I still have enough Life Points, and enough will to ride; and so does Yusei! Neither of us is willing to lose, and both of us are the best of our own generations of duellists. Together, we're going to send you to hell!"

"And how do you intend to do that?" Placido questioned. "You can't successfully attack and destroy any of my monsters by battle. Thanks to Wisel Carrier 5, my monsters are safe from destruction by effects as well. I can inflict Piercing and Burn Damage with every battle; and you only have 1 Magic or Trap Card each per turn. Coupled with your meagre Life Points, neither of you can survive for much longer."

"You should know by now," Judai told him, "that I'm too stubborn to give in to somebody like you. As long as you fight to keep me down, I'll fight harder to get back up!"

"I should have silenced you long ago," Placido admitted. "You're far too obnoxious for your own good. At least Yusei is smart enough to realize you cannot win. Just give up, and no more excuses. No more chatter. Just shut up and accept your damnation!"

"Like I'd ever do that!" Yusei yelled, surprising Placido and encouraging Judai. In a moment the Dragon's Head Birthmark on his arm lit up; and to match it, Judai's eyes lit up into Yubel's once again. "Our bonds are far stronger than your Wisel Monsters, or anything else you have in your Deck! We'll fight until the end!"

"Spare me any of this further dribble," Placido yelled angrily. "I'll simply have to pummel you both into oblivion! I set one card and end my turn!"

"Placido, it's time I showed you why I'm called "The Fusion Genius" in Professional Circles," Judai told him confidently, gripping at his Deck and grabbing a card. "I draw (Yusei: 4 SPC/Judai: 4 SPC/Placido: 3 SPC)!" As soon as he grabbed his card, a series of particles of light appeared and fused together, forming the body of the white dragon from the turn before (ATK: 2500, LV: 8).

"Trap Card Open!" Yusei yelled, showing off his only other set card. "I activate Star Burst!" With complete shock on Placido's face, Yusei's dragon rose into the air and he yelled, "With Stardust on my field, I select up to 3 opposing monsters whose power sums to Stardust's power or less, and negate their effects until the End Phase. I negate Wisel Guard, Top and Carrier 5!"

Once it was high above the opposing monster, the dragon fired three meteor-like bursts of energy straight at the three mentioned monsters, striking the head, arm and legs of the monsters dead on. Once it hit, a white foggy aura formed around the aforementioned 3 parts, causing them to spark with green energy.

"Thank you for that Yusei," Judai told him. "With that, I can use as many Spell Cards as I need. So let's go! I activate Speed Spell – Speed Fusion!" Once he had placed the card into the tray, Yusei took a card from his hand and held it up into the air, and he added, "I fuse Yusei's ace, Stardust Dragon, with my ace, E-HERO Neos!" Sure enough, the white warrior appeared from the card and shot into the air, stopping only when it was right in front of the monster's chest.

"What are you…?" Placido asked, for the first time in a while being quiet. In the air, the form of a vortex appeared in the black clouds, with lightning shooting down from this and striking the monsters. With them in an electrical field, they spiralled together; and in a few seconds, they formed a swirling blue and purple vortex.

"The soul of a warrior, given wings of a dragon and courage of a lion," Judai chanted, "shall descend upon the earth and rise as the force of justice! Become the path its light shines upon! Fusion Summon! Take up arms, Surging Dragon Knight – Dragoequites (ATK: 3200, LV: 10)!" With the chant done, the entire orb of energy burst into a gigantic humanoid form, which descended down over Judai and Yusei to face the opposing machine, which it was the same size as.

"That's…" Placido stammered out, seeing the monster as the energy fell away. Its two stiff, fan-like wings, long limbs with talons, and tail were all red and gave it a dragonic form; but its humanoid body was armoured in blue and bore white skin. Its face, a short dragonic one in white armour, completed the look with orange spikes; and a long, wide javelin with an equally long handle was in its hand, giving it a truly warrior-like look.

"Your monster can absorb only Synchro Monsters themselves," Judai pointed out. "But Fusion Monsters are completely safe; which means Stardust's soul; will now finally escape the clutches of your monster! And with Wisel Guard 5's effect gone, your monster is wide open! Battle!"

Pointing its staff straight at the head of the opposing monster, Placido hissed and turned to a card on his own field, yelling out, "Sorry to disappoint, but your monster is all a waste! I activate my Trap: Holy Barrier – Mirror Force! Say farewell to your monster!"

"You're getting sloppy," Judai sneered, making Placido gasp angrily as Judai reached into his hand. "I chain the Speed Spell – Swift Stream! Due to this effect, when I have 4 or more Speed Counters, I can discard 1 Monster to negate a Fusion Monster, destroying effect! I discard Neospacia Gunner!"

"What?" Placido asked suddenly, watching the card appear on Judai's field and shoot a bean of energy into Placido's trap, completely exploding it and leaving his monster defenceless.

"And next, half of the discarded monster's ATK is added to Dragoequites for this turn only! Gunner has 1800 ATK (ATK: 4100)! Spiral Javelin!" Jumping way up into the air, the monster's javelin blasted a long stream of white energy straight through the head of the monster, creating a perfect through-and-through strike that also hit Placido straight through the chest.

Yelling out in pain, Placido's entire body snapped around and his D-Wheel began to shake from side to side as his monster's head exploded into pieces, leaving nothing more than a smouldering wreck where its head had been. "With Wisel Top 5 gone, 1100 ATK also leaves your monster behind (ATK: 3400); and let's not forget that huge chunk of damage!"

Yusei: LP 500

Judai: LP 700

Placido: LP 3500

His body twitching in pain from the massive shot, Placido just barely managed to twist his body back around to face Judai and Yusei. With Judai's new monster settling back down above the two players, his angry face, now covered in small burns and scrapes from the blast, looked at them with deathly intent. "You'll fucking pay for that…"

"Will that be check or cash?" Judai responded smugly. "Oh wait I know; I'll just use my card. Three of them to be exact. I set three cards right now," he issued, placing all three onto the tray in a single sweep. "The tide has turned, Placido."

"What useless trash are you talking about?" Placido questioned. "Neither of you still have enough Life Points to survive; and even if you can play more cards, your effects all wear off now." After saying this, the white fog around the arm and legs of the monster vanished; and then the power of the Fusion Monster fell back away (ATK: 3200). "See that? You're still trapped!"

"We're nowhere near trapped," Yusei shot back. "Even if you think you can defeat us now, it's too late for you! Your Ultimate Wisel is powerful, but far from invincible. Even if I can't attack its other parts, or use card effects to destroy it, I can still put up a defence with Judai's new monster."

"It's not just my monster," Judai responded, getting Yusei to turn to him stunned. "The Material Monsters for this creature were our two aces, remember? This card symbolized the bonds that we share. That we all share. And that is why we will not fail!"

"What are you going on about now?" Placido responded. "The lot of you are nothing but characters in a twisted story designed to chronicle the missteps of a damned species. That Dragon Knight is nothing more than a plot device with which you can fight back; but it's to no avail. This story is already written, and no matter how hard you struggle you cannot escape Destiny's will."

"You're wrong!" Judai shot out. "As long as humans have free will, as long as we have bonds and believe in ourselves… as long as we have that, we will never fall to the likes of you!" Getting Placido to cringe at these words, he followed up with, "If this is a story already written by destiny, then the ending can never truly be written!"

"Judai is right!" Yusei added. "All humans write their own stories. If the ending is written in for one, then another can write a different ending. So until every ending is written, this story will continue on! And mark my words, together Judai and I will use our bonds to end this duel in our victory!"

"I'd like to see the two of you miserable anthropoid pieces of shit try!" Placido snapped, holding up his shaking right fist. "I have served God's will since long before any of you were born, since before even Jose, Lucciano and Alessandro came into being! If you say that stories all have their own endings, then allow me to show you the conclusion my story – and thus yours – will come to! I draw (Yusei: 5 SPC/Judai: 5 SPC/Placido: 4 SPC)!"

"We have to get them all out of here!" Kiryu yelled to Jack, Crow and Yugi, the only ones left of their group who were able to do so. With the Circuit overhead arcing and jolting, after having been ripped from the earth itself, Neo Domino City was being bombarded with bolts of energy.

"We allowed ourselves to be too easily distracted," Yugi self-chastised, reflecting on his massive blunder. Over and over he reviewed the facts, wondering how this had happened. The Alessandro that confronted them had been a fake, an X-Unit composed of Momentum energy and holding his form. Their interrupted duel ended in its destruction and assimilation; and shortly after that, his Duel Disc had gone dead.

"All those people…" Crow said hard-heartedly, think of the people from the WRGP Opening Trial who had crashed from the Diablo Incident. "If we can't save them, then there's nothing left to be done. They'll die!"

"They'll die anyway if Judai and Yusei can't defeat Placido," Jack reminded them, flashing back to when he saw the man last. "The power he has… taking out three of us in two turns, taking apart Dark Glass, who was strong enough to beat Yusei… can he truly create a miracle?"

"Not he; they," Yugi added. "I've seen Judai-kun and Yusei-kun duel, remember? I know they have what it takes!" Nodding, Jack and Crow realized that Yugi was right, as they expected; they needed to believe, as their friends did, that it could be done. Even with the storm above, even with this massive electrical light show… they knew they were in good hands.

"We won't get to them just with our D-Wheels," Jack realized, grabbing a card from his Deck and cueing Crow to do the same. "Take flight: Saviour Dragons!" In two bursts of light, the red and black four-winged dragons the two men possessed came into creation, taking them and their friends up to just below the energy streams and allotting them speeds above the supersonic levels.

"Hey, look over there!" Kiryu pointed off into the distance, seeing the equivalent light blue and red-and-black four-winged dragons off in the distance coming towards them. "Aki, the twins and Johan! They're coming to help us!" With a look of satisfaction on everyone's faces, they shot off across the city skies, the other two dragons seeing them and following suit at full speed. _"I just hope that we can get these in time... before Placido's twisted game cost too many people too much..."_

At Neo Domino City Hospital, Hell Kaiser and Asuka were up on the roof, looking upwards upon the glowing green Circuit which had completely eclipsed the city. The two of them had succeeded in securing many of the people inside; and now O'Brien and Kenzan were within the confines of the building as well, helping secure the areas with residual X-Units walking around.

"This is getting way too dangerous for comfort," Asuka reflected. "The duel up there, with Judai and Yusei… their lives are at risk. This is more intense than the Dark Games we saw before, perhaps more than the Dark Signers…"

"It's far worse than that, remember?" Hell Kaiser reminded her, pointing across the city at the green energy bolts shooting down from the Circuit and striking buildings. "That track Placido created is foreign to this world; it can't react properly with natural energy. Is this… the truly awesome power of Momentum?"

"The building is clear-saurus!" the voice of Kenzan suddenly yelled from behind the two, causing them to turn and see the mercenary pair standing at the ready, Gun Duel Discs mounted.

"Are you completely sure?" Asuka asked, getting a very quick nod from the two men.

"We checked every room, hallway, stairwell, everything," O'Brien assured. "Kaiser, you and Taiyo did a great job earlier; there wasn't a single X-Unit with full power. They must have gotten too weak to challenge you; but we took care of them right quick."

"Then we have to start the evacuation pronto," Hell Kaiser stated. "If this building falls under fire from the Circuit, then everyone inside is dead; and we cannot let that happen, no matter what happens to us!"

"Sir yes sir-saurus!" Kenzan yelled, he and O'Brien both arriving at attention and saluting as Hell Kaiser and Asuka ran towards then. "Now we'd better move-don; because we're almost out of time!" Turning, they both shot down the stairs and were followed by their partners, who immediately headed for the main patient wing on the floor.

"We managed to safely secure most of the patients in this wing," Asuka told them. "Did you guys managed to get the rest?"

"Sadly, negative," O'Brien informed, just as they got to the wing. "There were just too many; the next 4 floors down and completely filled."

"Then I'd better to this fast," Hell Kaiser responded, his eyes taking up the light blue glow of his Darkness form. In a few seconds a black fog completely covered the floors of the halls, seeping into the rooms and completely disappearing from view thereafter. When this was done, Hell Kaiser's eyes returned to their normal form, leaving no evidence that patients had been on that floor.

"You're storing them all in the World of Darkness-don?" Kenzan questioned, getting a very quick answer from Hell Kaiser.

"It's the only easily accessible place big enough for them all. Besides, in that state nobody will feel physical pain; and I can easily bring them back. Besides, it's better than letting them die…" Suddenly, the building shook violently, causing cracks to form along the ceilings and floor.

"We're running out of time," O'Brien stated. "We have to rescue everyone else, and we have to do it now!" With everyone in agreement, they pressed the button of the elevator, causing the doors to open and everyone to get in. Once they were, the doors closed; and just after that, the windows on the floor all shattered…

**Card of the Week – Judai**

**Surging Dragon Knight – Dragoequites**

**WIND**

**Level:** 10

**Family(s): **[Dragon/Fusion/Effect]

**Effect:** 1 Dragon-Type Synchro Monster + 1 Soldier-Type Monster

**Chapter:** This card can only be Special Summoned from the Extra Deck by Fusion Summon. Once per turn, during either player's turn, you can activate this card's effect by removing from play 1 Dragon-Type Synchro Monster in either player's Cemetery. Until the End Phase, this card on the field or in the Cemetery gains that monster's effect(s). Also, your opponent takes any damage you would have taken from a card effect.

**OCG:** This card can only be Special Summoned from the Extra Deck by Fusion Summon. Once per turn, you can activate this card's effect by selecting 1 Dragon-Type Synchro Monster in either player's Cemetery. Remove that monster from play, and until the End Phase, this card on the field is treated as having that monster's name and gains that monster's effect(s). Also, your opponent takes any damage you would have taken from a card effect.

**ATK/** 3200

**DEF/** 2000

*One Chapter left to go, and then we'll see what happens… Review if you wish*


	40. Battle Scars

**Disclaimer**: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.

**Author's Note:** This is the official last Chapter of C'est LaVie. Sadly, I will be unable to post my Tenth Anniversary fanfic for some time; I have many projects that need addressing, and it is one of the many. For now, I present you this, and hope it will tide you over. Also, thanks to my friends Arynis, Allana and Cohen from the Janime forum for letting me use them as characters. They will play an important role in my next and concluding fanfic after my Tenth Anniversary one.

**Chapter**** 40 – The Scars After the Battle**

"Are you ready to behold the power of my Monster (ATK: 3400) for real, Judai? Yusei?" Placido questioned, looking at both men with the card in his hand still pointed at them. "If not, then I suggest you surrender now, before I truly make you suffer." While he said this, a strange electrical charge arose along the different pieces of the track; then, in a patchy work, the pieces of the track began changing from the neon green to an intense crimson, outlined in yellow and with smoky black patches.

"We're running out of time," Judai and Yusei both said under their breath, unwittingly in unison. Both of them then looked on as the entire Circuit converted, slowly but surely; and then without any warning, the electrical storm beneath them began to intensify, bolts shooting in every single direction at once.

"Battle! I attack Dragoequites with Wisel!" Lighting up the boosters on the rear of its legs, the now-headless gigantic monster once again shot towards its foe; this time, it slashed its equally-sized opposing beast in half, from head to crotch, with the blades on its arm. As a green line appeared across the monster, it exploded viciously, causing Judai to smack into the console of his D-Wheel.

Yusei: LP 500

Judai: LP 500

Placido: LP 3500

"Are you alright?" Yusei questioned of Judai, who lifted his face from the console to reveal a bleeding injury directly above his right eye and left temple. Looking at Yusei with a confident smile, he signalled that he was still fighting; and then, he turned to Placido, his arm folded.

"And now, Judai, prepare to face defeat," Placido sneered. "Due to the effect of Wisel Attack 5, Dragoequites' power goes to your Life as damage Goodbye!" Pointing its arm at Judai, the gigantic robot prepared to fire a burst of energy at the monster; but before that could happen, Judai unfolded his arm and revealed a set card.

"Trap Card Open: Fusion Back! I Special Summon 1 Fusion Monster that was destroyed this turn from my Cemetery. Return, Surging Dragon Knight – Dragoequites (ATK: 3200, LV: 10)!" In a flash of light, the form of the gigantic dragonic monster appeared behind Yusei and Judai, its javelin on its back and its hands open.

"I activate the effect of Dragoequites," Judai revealed. "Any damage I receive from a card effect is negated, and then I inflict said damage to my opponent as normal!" Watching Placido grunt, Yusei smiled as he saw the burst of green energy shoot from the machine monster's arm, only to hit the left arm of the dragon and vanish. Then, the monster shot an identical burst from its right hand.

"_If this attack is allowed to get through," _Yusei realized confidently,_ "Placido will have a mere 300 Life Points left for my turn. If Judai has anything useful set, we'll take him apart!"_ As his thought finished, however, Placido burst his bubble by extending his arm out to reveal his own set card on the field.

"Trap Card Open: Wise Convert! While I control Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity, any effect damage I receive is added to my Life Points instead; thus, your attack will replenish the loss inflicted before!" Before even getting to hit Placido, the attack simply burst into pieces, integrating into Placido's body and causing his Life Points to shoot back up.

Yusei: LP 500

Judai: LP 500

Placido: LP 6700

"His Life Points are even high than they were earlier!" Yusei realized, now seeing a very large problem for them. "And even with Dragoequites to redirect effect damage, we can't touch his Life Points because of his Wisel Guard 5. What do we do now?"

"We shot him what we're made of," Judai told him, his Yubel eyes beginning to flash in sync with his heartbeat, "and take down those pieces in your next turn!" Saying such an idea to Yusei actually made the latter gasp, while Placido simply sneered at him.

"I'd love to use Speed World 2 to further boost my Life," Placido told them, reaching for two cards in his hand, "but I'd rather save them for when I eliminate that annoying monster. Then, I can truly take you down. I set 2 cards and end my turn."

"_I have to trust you, Judai..."_ Yusei though, reaching for his Deck and snapping up a card. "I draw (Yusei: 6 SPC/Judai: 6 SPC/Placido: 5 SPC)!" Once he saw the card in his hand, and looked at Judai, he was given a nod by his friend, and realized that he had to go on the offensive now. "Battle! I attack Wisel Guard 5 with Dragoquites!" Roaring, the monster reached onto its back and pulled up the javelin, shooting into the sky and pointing its weapon for an attack.

"Trap Card Open!" Judai issued at that time, showing off yet another set card. "Thanks to Strike Slash, Dragoequites gains 700 points (ATK: 3900), and it will inflict Penetration Damage this turn!" With that a burst of flames shot from the long javelin, striking into the shield of the robot's right arm and bouncing off. When they deflected, the flames shot around to Placido, who took the associated damage with a small grunt of pain.

"You might have hit my Life Points," Placido reminded them, "But don't forget that Wisel Guard 5 is never destroyed by battle."

"I can fix that," Judai added. "I can activate multiple Magic and Trap Cards now, remember? Trap Card Open: Fusion Burst! By halving Dragoequites' power (ATK: 1950), I inflict its new power as Battle Damage to one opposing monster! I'll deal Wisel Carrier 5 the battle damage!" Pointing its javelin again, the monster then shot another burst of energy straight through the connecting waist of the monster's legs, making them both explode violently while the shockwave struck Placido hard.

Yusei: LP 500

Judai: LP 500

Placido: LP 5050

"Now, I activate the Speed Spell – Power Crash!" Yusei declared, revealing his card that very moment. "With my Speed Counters at 4 or higher, I destroy two opposing monsters whose Levels sum to less than a monster I control. Without Carrier to protect your monsters, I destroy Wisel Guard 5 and Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity!"

"Like I'd allow that!" Placido responded. "Permanent Trap: Fork – Divergence! I change the target of an opposing effect to a different Machine! I'll have you destroy Wisel Guard and Wisel Attack 5!" Yusei's card then appeared into view and fired two beams of energy, whose blasts struck the arms of the robot and smashed them. With them gone, only the centre of the Machine remained.

"Trap Card Open!" Placido then added. "Wise Gravitation! When 2 or more Wisel Monsters I control are destroyed in one turn, I resurrect a Wisel Guard, Attack, Top and Carrier from my Cemetery! Return, Top 5 (ATK: 1100, LV: 5), Attack 5 (ATK: 2000, LV: 5), Guard 5 (DEF: 2800, LV: 5) and Carrier 5 (ATK: 1400, LV: 5)!" With a burst of green energy, the head and limbs of the gigantic machine suddenly regenerated into place, making both Judai and Yusei look up upon it with a scared expression.

"I… set 2 cards, and I Summon Rock-Stone Warrior (DEF: 1600, LV: 4)," Yusei said weakly, putting down two cards and having them vanish before the monster made of multiple different-sized rocks appeared before him in a crouching position, turning blue save for its glowing eyes. "I…end my turn."

"Pathetic," Placido sneered. "I draw (Yusei: 7 SPC/Judai: 7 SPC/Placido: 6 SPC)! Battle! I destroy your Dragoequites with Wisel (ATK: 4500)!" As with before, the machine monster rose up and swung its glowing arm at the monster; and as it did, Yusei held up a card and tried to act strong.

"I activate the effect of Effect Veiler! I discard this monster and negate Wisel Infinity's effect until the End Phase! In other words, your monster is destroyed!"

"That's what you think!" Placido responded. "Thanks to Fork – Divergence, I will change the target of your effect to Wisel Attack 5, meaning your monster and your Life Points are still toast!"

"Then… I activate a Trap Card! Top Scrap! I send the top 5 cards of my Deck to the Cemetery to negate the Battle Damage and draw 2 cards!" Taking his top 5 cards and throwing them into the Cemetery, Yusei then pulled 2 new cards as his monster was cut in half, leaving Judai with no monsters.

"It doesn't matter anymore!" Placido responded. "I activate the effect of Speed World 2, and I remove 4 Speed Counters (Yusei: 7 SPC/Judai: 7 SPC/Placido: 2 SPC)! Take this, Yusei!" Once again the four lights disappeared from around his eye, while a burst of energy shot from it at Yusei; but then, a card appeared in front of Yusei and took the bullet.

"I activated the effect of the Damage Eater in my Cemetery," Yusei explained, causing a card from his Cemetery slot to slide out into his hand. "By excluding this card from my Cemetery, I convert my damage into healing." Instantly Yusei's Life Points shot up by a dramatic amount, allowing him to stare on confidently.

Yusei: LP 2900

Judai: LP 500

Placido: LP 5050

"A minor inconvenience at worst," Placido chastised. "I set one card and end my turn." With this new card on his field, Judai looked on with a very tense look, reaching for his Deck and snapping up his card instantly.

"It's my turn (Yusei: 8 SPC/Judai: 8 SPC/Placido: 3 SPC)!" Looking at the card he had in his grasp, he instantly threw it into the tray and revealed it. "I activate Speed Spell – Power Draw! With my Speed Counters at 8 or more, all players draw 3 cards!" With that Yusei, Judai and Placido all grabbed their Decks and pulled up 3 cards in quick succession; then, Judai reached for his own console.

"Next, I remove 7 Speed Counters and draw one card (Yusei: 8 SPC/Judai: 1 SPC/Placido: 3 SPC)!" he added, grabbing a fourth card from his Deck and seeing them all. _"This hand... if I can survive a single turn, I have a real chance at beating Placido!"_ "I set 4 cards and end my turn!"

"A 4-card set, is it?" Placido questioned. "Clearly you're shaping up for a big move. Shame I'll take you apart first! I draw (Yusei: 9 SPC/Judai: 2 SPC/Placido: 4 SPC)!" Looking at Judai with a dark sneer he added, "Since Rock-Stone is not on your field, I can eliminate you completely! I direct attack with Wisel!"

"Trap Card Open!" Judai yelled. "Forced Convert! When my opponent declares a direct attack, I negate the attack and Special Summon 1 Monster with 500 or less ATK from my Cemetery. Come, Card Gunner (DEF: 400, LV: 3)!" Before the monster could even move, it was forced to not shift from its position at all; then, Judai's small robot rejoined his field, crouching as with before.

"Next, I activate Necro Gardna's effect from my Cemetery, and negate the attack that Battle Return would allot you!" Taking the card out from his Cemetery, Judai revealed it to Placido, who simply clenched his fist.

"Then I shall have to end my turn; but since I'm holding 7 cards, I'm forced to discard one." Holding up a card from his hand, he instantly threw it into the Cemetery; then, with fie in his eyes, Yusei reached for his own Deck.

"I draw (Yusei: 10 SPC/Judai: 3 SPC/Placido: 5 SPC)!" When he saw the cards that were in his own hand, he looked at them disapprovingly. "I also remove 7 Counters (Yusei: 3 SPC/Judai: 3 SPC/Placido: 5 SPC)!" Once he was holding yet another card, he took it and 3 other cards to throw down onto the tray. "I set 4 as well, and end my turn."

"How utterly boring," Placido jeered. "Allow me to finish this! I draw (Yusei: 4 SPC/Judai: 4 SPC/Placido: 6 SPC)!" Once he was holding his card, Placido pointed at Yusei and yelled, "Battle! I'll eliminate Rock-Stone Warrior! And even without Battle Damage, I will defeat you through effect damage!"

"I won't allow that!" Yusei yelled, watching as the arm of the machine cut his monster into shards of rock instantly. "I activate a Trap Card: Revenge Damage! With this card, I negate a monster effect inflicting damage, then for turns equal to its level I negate a weaker monster's effect! I'll negate Wisel Top 5 for 5 turns!" When the beam shot from Placido's monster, it simply struck the card and shot back at the monster's head, making it short out.

"Then I'll defeat you all the same," Placido added. "I remove 4 Speed Counters (Yusei: 4 SPC/Judai: 4 SPC/Placido: 2 SPC)!" As with the last many times, Placido's 4 orbs disappeared and a blast shot at Yusei; but again a card appeared on his field.

"That trick is getting old," Yusei added. "I activate Damage Polarilyzer!" Grunting, Placido watched as his beam fizzled out like a short circuit, then all three men drew a single card from their Decks.

"Then I end my turn," Placido added, taking two of his cards and throwing them away into the Cemetery. Clear annoyance showed itself on his face; he hadn't expected such opposition in the face of the Ultimate Wisel, even from 2 Legendary Duellists. Now he found his entire strategy was seemingly moot.

"You're gonna wish you'd been able to defeat me earlier," Judai added, reaching for his Deck. "I draw (Yusei: 5 SPC/Judai: 5 SPC/Placido: 3 SPC)!" Pointing to his own set card, he added, "I activate Neos Convert! With Neos in my Cemetery, I remove a Fusion Monster from play and Summon a Neos Fusion Monster with the same level with its effect negated this turn. I remove Dragoquites!"

"What?" Placido questioned, watching as the monster from earlier came back into view for a second. Then, a pillar of rainbow energy came into view, slowly revealing the large, armoured and feathered form of one of Judai's strongest monsters, whose own size was slightly greater that Placido's machine.

"Come forth, Rainbow Neos (ATK: 4500, LV: 10)!" As the energy died down, Judai's powerful monster took on its full form, its green eyes glaring down at the machine below. "Next, I activate my Trap Card, Neos Burst, and skip my Battle Phase to send all monsters to the Cemetery my opponent controls whose points are below my summoned monster!"

"No!" Placido yelled, watching as rainbow lasers shot from four of the gems on the monster's massive wings. They then struck the legs, arms and head of the monster, covering them in rainbow energy before they simply dissolved away, leaving nothing but the central core again (ATK: 0).

"I'm not done!" Judai yelled. "I activate my last card: Neos Cross! With a Neos Fusion Monster in play and Neos in the Cemetery, I revive a monster with 2500 or less original ATK in Defence Position! Return, Yusei's ace monster: Stardust Dragon (DEF: 2000, LV: 8)!" Yusei's face lit up like a child on Christmas morning at hearing these words, the expression only growing stronger while his white dragon came back into view in a crouching pose, screeching.

"Judai! You're amazing!" Yusei yelled, completely ecstatic at such a reversal with a mere 3 Trap Cards. "We're guaranteed a win at this rate!" While Judai set 2 cards from his hand, Yusei pulled his card from the Cemetery and put it into play, making the move official.

"_That Yuki Judai..."_ Placido thought angrily. _"He's more powerful than I thought. I can try and bring back my parts, but that serves no purpose now... because that Rainbow Neos can simply erase all my monsters. It looks like I have no choice; I have to use that card..."_

"Trap Card Open!" Placido yelled, revealing a set card from his second turn. "The Last Selected One! This card is activated by sending all the cards on my field and in my hand to the Cemetery!" Once he said this, all of his Magic and Trap Cards, and his core monster vanished, and then he threw his entire hand into the Cemetery.

"Next, I select a single card in my Deck, and send everything else to the Cemetery!" Confusing both men with this move, Placido pulled out his entire Deck and grabbed a single card, sneering; then, the rest of his cards were thrown away, and he placed the last remaining card back in his Deck.

"What's his angle?" Yusei questioned. "Only one card left in his Deck, no hand and no field; he'll lose in his next turn. He must have some sort of angle; even if he has any draw he wants, he's only got that one."

"Maybe," Judai responded, "but that card's clearly worth throwing his Deck away." Then, in a solitary frame of memory, his face converted into an expression of horror and he yelled out, "he's added _that_ card to his hand!"

"You're too late to save yourselves this time," Placido said strongly, grabbing his solitary card. "I draw (Yusei: 6 SPC/Judai: 6 SPC/Placido: 4 SPC)! And with the card I now hold, I can finally banish both of you to Judecca permanently!"

Landing their four-winged dragons in the streets, the Signers and company jumped down onto the ground and prepared to move out; but before they could do that, they were greeted with a familiar site. They had landed, completely by chance, below the Neo Domino City Hospital; and, looking up in the window on the fourth-from-the-top floor, they saw a man in a very long black coat jump down from there.

"Kaiser!" Johan realized, raising his fist in triumph while Hell Kaiser fell. Part way down, the man reached for his Deck and pulled out a single card, playing it and creating the form of his composite metal green, brown and grey metal dragon wrapped around the building.

Once it has materialized, everyone was horrified to see a red blot of energy shoot down from the Circuit and strike the monster, making it explode into energy instantly. Hell Kaiser, cringing at this, made his eyes glow light blue as the pieces changed into black fog, reforming and allowing him to hand on its metal maw on his own two feet.

Looking back up, the man turned and signalled up to the floor to follow. Immediately the forms of O'Brien and Kenzan jumped down from the building, holding Asuka between them, and also landed on the large metal structure. The monster then quickly lowered its head to where the four could jump down; then it dissolved, leaving the group standing on their own.

"The Circuit is growing even more unstable," O'Brien realized, looking up at the bolts and seeing them arcing in every direction. "If it is powered by Momentum, which is a living energy in the hearts of humans…" Nobody completed the chilling thought he was putting out; but everyone instantly cringed on the inside, knowing full-well what he meant and that it was true.

"Look out!" Asuka suddenly yelled, pointing as a bolt of the red energy shot down straight towards Jack, too fast for him to react. However, it did not reach him; for another bolt of energy, much like an arrow, struck the end of the bolt and the two thus cancelled each other out. Then, a green-robed figure jumped down from the top of a six-story building, a Duel Disc mounted on his arm like an archery bow.

"Who are you?" Kiryu questioned, seeing the figure instantly and watching as they landed, pulling their hood down and revealing a pair of gold eyes, long blond hair, and a rather thin face with conviction.

"You can call me Arynis," she added. "I'm with Team Medieval from Hungary; and, more relevant right now, I'm a friend of Judai's. As are my two cohorts." With that the brunette woman and tanned man Arynis had been with earlier stepped out from an alley, the former wearing a Duel Disc like a sword and shield and the latter one much like a Star of David.

"My name is Marc Cohen, of Team Nazareth from Israel," the man explained, turning to indicate his female counterpart. "This is Simone Allana, of Team Bataille from France. Like Arynis here, we're friends of Judai; and I take it that you're all aware of what's at stake, being his allies as well."

"There's lots of injured people in this area," Yugi told the three people. "Can you at all help us with securing them?" The response was unable to come right away; because three more red bolts of energy came down, clearly seaking the Duel Discs, that caused the three to turn.

First to react, Marc reached for his own Duel Disc and put a card onto one of the points of the star. "Come, Dive Dragon King of Mist Valley!" Instead of summoning the monster, the attack was completely dowsed in a field of dense fog, which faded with the attack.

Next, the woman, Simone, reached for her own Duel Disc and revealed a card, putting it into play. "I Summon Crusader of the Sacred Order!" Instantly a swordsman in rather old-looking armour came into view, jumping up into the path of the energy to stop it with his shield and slash through it with his sword.

Lastly, Arynis put a card into play, adding, "Rise, Darkbolt Archer!" Standing behind her, a tall, thin monster in black armour with bows built into its forearms appeared, firing two more arrows into the path of the oncoming attack and stopping it cold. "That's exactly why we have to act fast."

"Indeed, but what can we do?" Yugi questioned, seemingly somewhat despaired. "Even if we can save these people, unless Judai and Yusei win it's all in vain."

"Don't even go there with us!" Jack bellowed at the man. "As long as those two are fighting, nothing is in vain. We have to put all our faith in them, and do what is needed of us!" Hearing these words, Yugi brought himself back to a face of conviction, nodding as the entire group started to run in the direction of the others.

"_Yusei and Judai… they truly are my successors as Kings of Duellists…"_

"Are you ready to feel the true terror of the Aeons?" Placido asked of his two opponents, both of them becoming visibly rattled by such a question. Before they could even provide a response, a series of cards slid from his Cemetery, creating three large coloured auras that took on the form of the orange, blue and white mechanical giants respectively.

"When al cards are on my opponent's side of the field," he explained, "I can remove from play Machine Emperors Wisel, Skiel and Grannel from my Cemetery, and invoke their ultimate form." One by one, the three gigantic machines all dissolved into particles of energy in green, blue and orange respectively, fusing into a single red sphere at their centre and bursting upwards towards the sky, and downwards through the ground, into an entire red column of light.

"Appear now: Ultimate Machine God – Machinecle Infinity Cubic!" Just as the three combatants passed by the centre of the Infinity loops, where the beam was centred, the erupting column expended and released the form of a tall, mechanical cylinder-like structure with a rounded top and a three-pronged structure much like a 3-part Infinity symbol on its side. Parts of its form instantly began to shift and reposition, until its entire body extended out into a gigantic robotic torso, pair of legs and face.

"Next, when this Monster is Special Summoned, it calls upon its two arms: Machinecle Assault (ATK: 0, LV: 12) and Machinecle Defend (DEF: 0, LV: 12)!" On either side of the glowing red machine monster, smaller cylinders appeared and extended out into a pair of arms – the left bearing a massive blade and the right a massive shield – and both attached themselves to the sides of the new monster, flexing to show that they functioned. Inside their Infinity Symbols, a glowing green core formed; and then a third formed inside the centre, in glowing red.

Then, as the monster look up its place, the column of red energy at the centre of the Circuit pulled itself into a sphere at the centre, electricity encasing it. Within it then appeared the form of the mechanical comma-looking object, the lines along its form now glowing red and its entire form pulsating like a massive heart.

"What is…?" Yusei has time to stammer out before the energy once again erupted upwards. This time, it took on the shape of the chiselled body which Placido had summed before, complete with the limbs, a sun-looking structure on its back supporting two wing-like objects, and the carved face adorned with glowing yellow eyes. "Is… is that…?"

"This is my true form…" Placido said, his voice having once again changed to that of the disembodied, deep voice of Zone. "And this Machinecle Infinity is my body, complete with power to symbolize my reign. Machinecle Assault will automatically give my Machinecle Infinity Cubic twice the attack power of a monster it attacks, as well as inflicting Penetration Damage; and should you attack, Machinecle Defend will absorb the attack with twice as much DEF."

"It what…?" Judai asked, his face growing ghost-white as he saw the sneer of victory on his opponent's face. "Double our power and Penetration Damage? That… can't be…"

"Be gone, foolish mortals who dare to tread on the grounds of Gods! Battle! I attack Stardust Dragon with Machinecle Infinity Cubic (ATK: 5000)!" Instantly, the bladed arm of the robot began to glow red and spark electrical current; then, it swung itself at the dragon below, the blade alone dwarfing the dragon.

"Trap Card Open!" Judai finally managed to say coherently, showing off a set card. "I activate Neos Barrier!"

"Using an attack negating card won't work," The god voice told them, sounding superior and as though all hope for his enemies had been lost. "Alpha Omega Defend also negates any card effects which affects Alpha Omega Infinity!"

"That's not what this card does," Judai told him. "I activate it by releasing a Neos Fusion Monster with no cards in my hand; therefore, I sacrifice Rainbow Neos!" Instantly the form of the gigantic warrior broke apart into particles of rainbow energy, collecting around Judai's field and creating a barrier. "Next, I end the Battle Phase; and for every 1000 points of ATK the opposing monster had, I draw 1 card." Reaching for his Deck, Judai pulled all 5 cards on one shot, leading to a dark growl by the opposing figure.

"Then you are safe for this turn," he told them, his voice showing no register of failure. "With no cards left, I am forced to end my turn."

"_I think we're safe from him right now,"_ Yusei thought, trying to be calm but feeling his heart pounding in terror. _"Still, I know he must have some back-up plan; there's no way he'd risk losing from a Deck-Out."_ "It's my turn (Yusei: 7 SPC/Judai: 7 SPC/Placido: 5 SPC)!" Upon seeing the card in his hand, he reached to his Cemetery, watching as two cards slid out.

"I activate the effect of Tuning Miner from my Cemetery," he explained. "By excluding this card, I Special Summon 1 Level 1 Monster from my Cemetery. Come back, Tuning Supporter (DEF: 300, LV: 1)!" With one of the two cards stashed away, he placed his small yellow robot onto the battle tray, where it crouched and turned blue. "I also summon Boost Warrior (ATK: 300, LV: 1)!"

Reaching into his hand, he also put down his rocket-wearing monster, giving him a pair of monsters which he pointed to. "I now Tune Boost Warrior to Tuning Supporter!" Starting its rockets, said monster jumped up into the sky, where it became a single green ring. The other monster then jumped into it, where its body dissolved into light.

"The clustering hopes will bring forth a new possibility," he chanted. "Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! The power of hope, Synchro Tuner, Formula Synchron (DEF: 1500, LV: 2)!" Out of said light then emerged the crouching form of the small blue race car-like robot, crouching as Yusei reached for his Deck further. "Because of Tuning Supporter and Formula Synchron's effects, I draw 2 cards!"

"Are you two done drawing cards rampantly?" Zone asked in annoyance while Yusei looked at the cards in his hand.

"Not quite," he responded. "I activate Speed World 2's effect; and by removing my 7 Speed Counters (Yusei: 0 SPC/Judai: 7 SPC/Placido: 5 SPC), I pull one last card!" Once he had added said card to his hand, Yusei took the whole mess of cards and threw it down onto the tray, leaving himself an empty hand but a plethora of set cards. "I end my turn."

"_Next turn is the deciding turn,"_ Yusei thought as he reviewed his set cards. _"If I can keep myself calm, I can Accel Synchro in my next turn; then, with the help of my cards, I'll by pass his monster and defeat him."_

"Time to say goodbye (Yusei: 1 SPC/Judai: 8 SPC/Placido: 6 SPC)," Zone told both of them, reaching for his Cemetery as a card slid out. "By skipping my Draw Phase, I immediately return Infinity Blast from my Cemetery to my hand." Once said Trap Card was within his grasp, he instantly threw it down into the tray. Looking at him nervously, Judai knew what was in store for him next turn.

"Fare thee well, Fudo Yusei.," he added. "I attack Stardust Dragon with Machinecle Infinity Cubic (ATK: 5000)!" Once again swinging its arm down upon the small monster, said machine struck the dragon with such force that it screamed out in pain, the electricity so volatile it jumped to Yusei and gave him an instant shock.

"Trap… card… open!" he yelled out, revealing one of his new three set cards. "With Spirit Force, I negate my Battle Damage and return Boost Warrior to my hand. And also, with the Shield Warrior I discarded with Top Scrap, I negate Stardust's destruction by battle!" As the two cards slid from his Cemetery, Yusei again stashed one away and put the other back into his hand; and then, the blade withdrew from his dragon, leaving it scratched but standing.

"I end my turn," Zone stated, turning to Judai with a glare of hatred. "And let me guess; the Fusion Genius has some magic equation with which to defeat my monster? I'd like to see that. After all, I want a fight to warm myself up before destroying your city!" Looking over at the monster from the centre of the Circuit, Judai watched it raise its hand to the sky; and at the centre of the swirling clouds, what appeared to be the sky itself began to part. And a red light then shone through that blanketed the ground below.

"What… the fuck…?" Yusei asked as he watched it too, not believing what he saw. Above them where a huge section of the sky had once been, the form of a huge red star now shone; and then the Circuit below their feet began to pulsate as well. Very soon, the three combatants saw its form shift into that of a stone building, a spiral-shaped monolith with two entwining paths jutting out from its form. At its centre, its form glowed with the sane crimson energy as the God within it now did.

"Is this…?" Judai asked, Zone inferring what he meant while the being's body further rose from the spiral building up to its knees. "No… don't tell me that this is…!"

"This is the completed form of the Circuit," Placido's voice added, finally returning before it was drowned back out by Zone's. "With this vessel completed, when this duel ends in my victory it will be the end of your city. For this Circuit is a device more powerful than any you know; it is the true form of Momentum itself."

"How can that be?" Yusei questioned, watching as they sped along one of the winding stone tracks while the city-sized building towered over Neo Domino and Satellite. "This is… this is the power of the human soul…?"

"No; it is the form which Momentum was given eons ago. It is from this object that your souls draw this power; so I shall return you all to it, and then put its power to good use."

"I won't let that happen!" Judai responded, clenching his fists. "I made a vow long ago that I would fight for justice; and now I will fight to defeat you, no matter the sacrifice! I draw (Yusei: 2 SPC/Judai: 9 SPC/Placido: 7 SPC)!"

"Trap Card Open: Infinity Blast!" Zone revealed. "Since I control 3 Machinecle Monsters, Judai, you shall now receive 2400 points of effect damage. While normally that is a small amount, you only have 500 Points left anyway. May you be put to rest like a true hero for your valour." Instantly the forms of the three objects making up the gigantic robot blasted energy at Judai; but to the God's surprise, their impact struck Judai's small robot and not him.

"I activate Surging Guard," Judai responded. "With this Trap Card, I negate an opposing damage effect my destroying my monster. And now, until your next End Phase, I receive no effect damage!"

"That's hardly salvation," Zone responded, "considering my all-powerful being here."

"I'll take it down," Judai responded. "I activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton!" Once he had snatched up his two cards, he took one of them and threw it into the Cemetery before reaching for another one. "Next, I activate Speed Spell – Over Fusion, and exclude Fusion materials from the Cemetery to Fusion Summon a monster until the End Phase!"

Five cards then slid from Judai's Cemetery, and as they came into view he described, "I exclude Neos, Neospacia Gunner, Another Neos, N-Air Hummingbird and N-Glow Moss, and I Fusion Summon Elemental Hero… God Neos (ATK: 2500, LV: 12)!" With a burst of light, Judai's field was joined by a gold-armoured, winged warrior larger than his last monster; one who floated facing the opposing machine, ready to fight.

"I remove from play Speed Fusion from my Cemetery to Special Summon Magic Striker (ATK: 600, LV: 3)," he revealed, showing off a blue-clad small figure holding a zigzagged staff. "Next, by excluding Rainbow Neos, I have God Neos gain 500 ATK (ATK: 3000), and then I activate my monster's effect; by releasing card Excluder, I return your monsters to your Deck!"

"What?" Zone questioned in complete disbelief, watching as the large warrior converted its smaller cohort into a burst of energy and flung it into the opposing robot. The entity then watched as the two arms of said robot warped off the field; and the cards reappeared in the otherwise-empty Deck slot, leaving the torso all alone.

"I switch Stardust to attack Position (ATK: 2500)!" As the white dragon spread out its body and rose higher, Judai turned to his other monster and yelled, "Battle! I attack Alpha Omega Infinity with God Neos! Legendary Strike!" Six orbs of different colours then appeared in the monster's hand, before it flung the whole mess of energy straight at the opposing monster; but Zone simply sneered at this action.

"Foolish mortal. When Machinecle Infinity is attacked, its power becomes that of the opposing monster (ATK: 3000)! And then, when it is destroyed, it simply returns next turn; so you attack is wasted, and this game is over."

"Yes, this game is over; but that's because my attack is not wasted," Judai responded, revealing a card from his hand. "I send Honest from my hand to the Cemetery, and I add the power of Machinecle Infinity to God Neos (ATK: 6000)!" While the deity watched in complete shock, he saw the burst of energy from the shock go straight through his monster, causing a massive explosion that struck his body at full force.

"Then I shall activate an effect from my Cemetery," Zone responded, a card sliding out from his arm while he held it up. "Due to the effect of Infinity Releaser, I reduce all of my Battle Damage to 0." As a result of said effect, even as the monster was reduced to a mass of energy particles, his Life Points were completely untouched by the attack.

"Then in that case, go Stardust Dragon! Direct attack! Shooting Sonic!" Rearing up, the dragon finally launched its attack straight into Placido's torso and straight through, creating a massive explosion as the man and his D-Wheel collapsed onto their side, spinning out as Yusei and Judai shot past.

Yusei: LP 2900

Judai: LP 500

Placido: LP 2550

"So you have managed to bypass the body of my servant," the voice of the God resounded, now emanating from the glowing red being instead of Placido's body. "I am certainly impressed; but without the ability to defeat me now, it's a wasted effort. Due to Infinity Releaser, I receive no damage for the rest of this turn. Speed World 2's effect cannot defeat me."

"Then I…" Judai responded, looking to his hand for any sort of sign for what to do. "I… set 2 cards." Taking the far left and right pieces of his hand, Judai placed them onto the tray before adding, "Next, due to the effect of Formula Synchron, I draw one card."

"Then I assume your move is finished," the God added, watching Judai glare at his freshly-drawn card and making such interpretation. "Then for my Draw Phase, I return Infinity Blast to my hand." On Placido's body, lying alongside the pathway of the floating object, said card ejected itself from the body of his arm, resting in its place with nothing to grab it.

"Next, I shall activate the effect of my Machinecle Infinity, and Special Summon it again; then, it shall call forth its limbs from my Deck." In a burst of crimson light, the form of the gigantic robot once again rose up from the body of the Momentum, hovering over the two and almost eclipsing the light from the red star.

"Battle! Be gone, Yuki Judai, as I attack and destroy God Neos with my Machinecle Infinity (ATK: 5000)!" With said command, the left arm of the robot once again burst into the sparking red light, preparing to strike at Judai's monster with full force. Judai, looking down at his cards, saw panic and terror in the reflection of his eyes; but then, he saw a red light emanate from Yusei, who had regained a strong composure.

"I won't let something like that happen!" Yusei shot back, pointing at the two monsters behind him while he reached for his cards. "You forget; there is a new power in my Deck which you handed down to me. You said I was to be tested with it; and now, I will show you that I can pass!"

"You what?" The God blurted out, watching as the form of Yusei's small robot burst out into a beam of light. From said light emerged two green rings, which shot over the head of his white dragon before morphing into a rainbow light along the leading edges of the dragon.

"The clustering crystal dreams will unlock the door to a new evolution," Yusei chanted, holding out his blank card while his Signer mark let off a brilliant glow. "Become the path its light shines upon! Accel Synchro!" With that the form of the white dragon concentrated into a green beam of light, accelerating until it vanished; then, a burst of light shot out from the chest of the God, turning neon green.

"This is…" Judai realized, looking up at the light with an awestruck look while it rose into the air. The light then solidified into the form of the white, black and green dragon Yusei had spawned earlier; its claws poised for battle and its long wings, tail and neck curled into a matching pose. The green glowing eyes on its mouth less face matched the intensity of the God's; and it let off an aura that showed its power.

"Surpass the boundaries, Shooting Star Dragon (ATK: 3300, LV: 10)! And right now, I activate Shooting Star Dragon's effect," he added, holding up the card while the remainder of its text appeared. "By excluding this monster until the End Phase, I negate one opposing monster's attack!" Folding its wings and elongated sections together, the dragon shot a burst of energy much like a green comet into the form of the opposing machine, stopping its cold.

"You've already called upon the power of your new monster," Zone realized. "Then I'll set one card and end my turn." As though manipulated by an unseen puppeteer, Placido's right arm grabbed his card from the Cemetery and threw it into a slot on his tray. "I end my turn."

"I draw!" Yusei yelled, reaching for his Deck with renewed confidence while he pulled his next card. Moments later, however, the card that had been set appeared beside Placido's downed body, shooting a beam of energy straight through Yusei's chest that made him cringe with the card in his hand.

Yusei: LP 500

Judai: LP 500

Placido: LP 2550

"I activate a Trap Card…" Yusei stated, preparing to reveal one of his two remaining set cards. Before he could activate it, however, he was stopped by a strange vibrating sensation throughout the object below them. The faces of Placido, Judai and Yusei all grew tense at the feeling below them. The electricity which had ceased to spark so ravenously now returned; but this time, in a dark purple variation which produced an uneasy feel.

"What's going on here…?" Placido questioned, watching while the God above him looked over in the direction of the Old Momentum below the Momentum Circuit. Said being could only watch as a sudden and uproarious burst of purple energy rose up from the tower of the old structure, its explosive force tearing the building apart before striking the sky and creating a wave-pattern.

"Oh my God!" Judai screamed, watching while more purple electricity burst down from the pulsating energy flow, colliding with the Momentum below them and creating an energy reaction. The entire form of the structure below them burst into a radiating red glow, casting a bright pulse of light that drowned out the red star above them.

Moments later, a massive explosion from the energy cross-reaction triggered and swept across the sky, radiating a shockwave of such force that buildings cracked from street to top, windows shattered and stretches of bridge collapsed into the rivers below.

Looking up on the massive sight, the four remaining Signers grasped their arms in agony, watching their Birthmarks pulsate and burn intensely on their arm. It felt to them as though the marks would be ripped from their bodies; and the others looked up upon the skies above, the ominous light filling the night sky.

"What… is this…? I…" Yugi suddenly declared, receiving a strange feeling within his being. Holding up his Duel Disc, he could see that it too was resonating and casting a purple light over him; but before he could analyze it further, it erupted into a column of energy around him. The burst lasted for less than a second; and by the time it passed, nothing remained of the Legendary Duellist.

"Yugi-san… Judai and… Yusei as well…" Aki observed, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. "They're all gone… vanished without a trace… Are they…?" she didn't want to complete the horrid thought with words; but knowing exactly what she meant, everybody turned inwards and took up a solemn pose, trying not to let tehri grief consume them.

The energy burst from the Old Momentum then fell silent, and immediately following that the sky began to reform itself in patches over the star above. In seemingly no time the burning red star had disappeared from view; and as it faded, the energy from the Momentum above died out and its red glow fell away. Cracks began to form along the pathways surrounding the centre structure, eventually causing them it break into dust and leave the floating building in the sky, casting its shadow over a city beaten and broken.

At the epicentre of the blast from the Old Momentum, Kyojo and Yusuriha had been flung against the stone ways of the device's hole, knocked so hard that they could barely feel or sense where they were. Their eyes were burned and their skin blistered, their clothes torn and their nerves in agony; but most of all, a sense of agony consumed them. The agony of failure.

"What… have we allowed to unfold…?" Kyojo questioned, slowly sitting up to look at his smashed Duel Disc and his cards scattered all over the epicentre, along with Yusuriha's. Beside his left leg sat one card in particular that caught his damaged sight; his own card Trident Dragion, had returned to its original state, set free from Paradox's earlier attack.

"But… Taiyou's Stardust…" he deduced, seeing it sitting a few feet away from the card he had just grabbed. The card's image was completely gone, replaced with a black void; and the entire card's form was dulled and faded.

"Taiyou… your monster is…" Kyojo started, picking up the card and trying to turn to his friend to show it to him. Then, he noticed something he had failed to see from his eyes stinging earlier: Taiyou had completely vanished from the room, with no sign of him to be had. "Taiyou… Taiyou, where are you…? TAIYOU!"

Kyojo didn't notice from his screaming the cloaked figure standing at the top of the pit, glowing red eyes glaring down upon him in a fixed gaze before turning and simply walking away…

"What the fuck was that supposed to be?" Alessandro questioned uncouthly, thrusting his fist into the arm of the throne. "What a disgraceful mess, El Capitan… the Circuit is failed, the Signers divided, Paradox still running rampant, that blasted machine has erupted again; and worst of all, our actions are now known to the people of this city…"

"Placido…" Lucciano sighed, more sadly and in a lamenting tone. "What… what happened to him in that blast…?" Before she could elaborate further, a warning alarm began to sound in the background; and several display screens came up, revealing the presence of armed soldiers marching through the building.

"That Akutsu…" Alessandro snarled, recalling the brown-haired, scatter-brained scientist with whom he had met after taking Lucciano's place as an Emperor of Yliaster. "He and that little troll Jaeger must have called the United States Armed Forces from the nearby base on us! When I get my hands on him…"

"We can worry about punishing traitors later!" Lucciano shouted back to her counterpart, her voice filled with emotion. "Jose, Alessandro, one of you two; answer me!"

"There is no way to know until we can secure the Final Momentum," Jose finally responded to Lucciano's earlier comment, his expression solemn. "But Alessandro is right; our cover is coming apart, and we can no longer keep ourselves secret here."

"We need to secure what's left of El Capitan," Alessandro then deduced, standing up while his robes converted into energy form and changed from blue and white to simply white. "Then we'll get out of this place, and let nobody know anything further. For right now this project is on hold."

Nodding, Jose and Lucciano stood up in unison, each one of them vanishing from the room in the very same moment. Behind them, the plasma screens and the observation orb shattered into energy form, followed closely by the thrones as they cracked and crumbled. The coursing energy line along the ceiling and walls fell silent, and the floating orbs forming Infinity Symbols stopped moving and likewise shattered into energy.

Seconds later, there came a resounding thud when two armed soldiers burst in through the doors of the room, having reached it quickly due to their access to several covert pathways and transporters. From behind them a man dressed in a more formal, commanding officer's uniform stepped in, assuming the front position and giving his two soldiers the hand signal to lower their weapons.

"Well, the place seems more deserted than a ghost town," the man said it himself in English, his Wisconsin accent marking his place of origin. "Whoever or whatever was here did a pretty good job of covering their tracks; but I know that there's been activity here." Turning back to his soldiers, he looked them square in the eye and gave the agenda.

"Seal off the building with barricades or whatever necessary. No persons without authorization, Public Security or otherwise, enter or exit without our clearance. Inform the Mayor that until further notice, the Public Security Maintenance Bureau's office is under the possession of the United States Armed Forces."

**Card of the Week – Placido**

**Ultimate Machine God – Machinecle Infinity Cubic**

**LIGHT**

**Level:** 12

**Family(s): **[Machine/Effect]

**Effect:** This card cannot be Normal Summoned or set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by removing from play 5 different types of "Wisel", "Skiel" and "Grannel" Monsters from your Cemetery, when your opponent controls a monster and a Magic or Trap Card and you control no cards. When this card is Special Summoned, Special Summon 1 "Machinecle Assault" and 1 "Machinecle Defend" from your Cemetery. Other monsters you control cannot declare an attack. If this monster is selected as an attack target, its ATK becomes equal to that of the attacking monster. If this card is destroyed, Special Summon it during your next Standby Phase, ignoring the summoning conditions.

**ATK/** ?

**DEF/** ?

*And so ends my longest fanfic yet; but I'm just getting warmed up… Review if you wish.*


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